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Jumping from page to screen is a risk giant because it can elevate a story but also bury it. Some pearls of literature are not transposed but violated by adaptations, sometimes driven by commercial logic or economic interests. Not this time. These ten cases, based on novels from the near past, demonstrate that the freshness and purity of a book can truly be translated into images.
It has always happened, from ancient myths onwards, that a way was found to bring powerful and universal stories back to life. The arrival of platforms broadens the range of possibilities and allows for a broader narrative that often establishes a sort of familiarity with the public.
That they are geographically well-defined stories (such as the very Roman events of Zerocalcare) or set in dystopian realities (see The Handmaid’s Tale) or magical (like Fantastic Beasts, prequels to Harry Potter), it matters little. The private dimension of the events becomes a global paradigm and touches the viewer in a new way.
Even historical reinterpretations in soap sauce (like Bridgerton), for example, find themselves in front of a new life thanks to the pop and contemporary touch. It is no longer a question of lucky exceptions but of a trend that is increasingly solidifying and welcomes transversal targets.
This is why these ten novels become a source of entertainment in the first of the summer months: they have a familiar atmosphere but are loaded with new meanings, all to be rediscovered.
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:
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10 green books
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The brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante
The masterpiece of the mysterious Elena Ferrante is declined in installments (and available on RaiPlay) by Saverio Costanzo. Each chapter embraces an era and follows the evolution of the two protagonist friends, Lenù and Lila, who grew up in a Naples that is certainly not a postcard, but rough and poignant in the 1950s in the popular neighborhoods. The relationship between the girls on their journey towards adulthood grows, changes, cracks and strengthens in a powerful and unpredictable portrait of the female.
(Already available. Editions E / O, pp. 400)
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The prophecy of the armadillo by Zerocalcare
The armadillo of Zerocalcare was born from comics and moved to a platform (in the cult-series Strappare along the edges, on Netflix) to act as a conscience to the protagonist and bring to the surface neurosis and idiosyncrasies. The tragicomic everyday life of Zero and his friends is psychoanalysed with profound irony between new catchphrases (“Annamo a pija er gelato?” And “Te reacho cor coso”) and old adages. The short circuits of social networks, the fixes for bingewatching, narcissistic isolation: these and many other themes find space in the peaceful Romanity of Zero, but behind the popular slang and the small / big manias there are deep and heart-wringing themes.
(Already available. Bao, pp. 160)
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The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The misogynist and dystopian theocracy hypothesized by the author in the Eighties came to life (on TIMVision) in an equally visionary and almost prophetic series, The Handmaid’s Tale with Elizabeth Moss. The traditionalist and centralizing Republic of Gilead prophesies a world of castes where the few fertile women are used as living incubators. They are called handmaids and have as their name those of the “master”, who fertilizes them every month at the end of procreation. Through very powerful symbols, the message of emancipation and equality arises from the pages to become a powerful and (unfortunately) current and modern image.
(Already available. Ponte alle Grazie, pp. 400)
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The chess queen by Walter Tevis
Beth Harmon has managed to make a game considered classic (if not “old fashioned”) pop. Thanks to Anya Taylor-Joy, who in the serial reinterpretation of Netflix gives life to this very powerful story. A little girl discovers that she is a phenomenon in this game, the only distraction in the orphanage where she lives. She teaches him the attendant of this rigid and traditional structure, but when someone else is adopted he discovers her talent and gives her a chance. Her analytical mind turns her into an unprecedented champion. And the game is not played only on the chessboard but becomes a metaphor for equality and female empowerment.
(Already available. Mondadori, pp. 324)
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The untouchable by Marisa Merico
The novel is the true story of the author, which later became an all-Italian series, Bang bang baby (Prime Video). In the eighties she Marisa she discovers that she is the daughter of a boss of the ‘Ndrangheta in jail and she approaches for the first time the crime family from which she comes from. Her mother has always tried to keep the girl out of trouble and above all from her clan, but her adolescence appears at the gates and she does her own thing. The situation quickly degenerates and triggers a series of very dangerous consequences …
(Already available. Sperling & Kupfer, pp. 288)
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I didn’t understand anything by Diego De Silva
Diego De Silva’s series of novels will arrive on Rai Uno in the autumn with the fiction Vincenzo Malinconico, an unsuccessful lawyer. The protagonist, with the face of Massimiliano Gallo, has his own conception of the law: lazy and disorganized, one step away from divorce, without major cases, he seems a natural talent for attracting women with Red Cross syndrome. He is the typical anti-hero, a Neapolitan version to be laughed at.
(Already available. Einaudi, pp. 309)
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Rambo first blood by David Morrell
The Rambo legend in the cinema (now available on AppleTV +) was born among these pages. The story, as you know, traces the story of a Vietnam veteran who becomes iconic. This man becomes the emblem of resistance, freedom and independence, embodying profound ideals. The novel retraces his battle with the local sheriff, Teasle, and an unprecedented and limitless manhunt ensues. Compared to the film, the book is more raw, visceral, profound and explores dynamics that images can sometimes only touch.
(Already available. NPE, pp. 253)
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Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets by JK Rowling
Initially born as a student manual of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (published by Salani), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them becomes a prequel series of five films. The third chapter, just arrived in digital home premiere on major platforms, is called Dumbledore’s secrets and lands in the bookstore – as per the tradition of the two previous chapters – with the original screenplay created by JK Rowling. This time the story is based on Dumbledore’s past, who has the face of Jude Law on the big screen. The magic served.
(The third screenplay coming July 19. Salani, pp. 336)
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The terminal list by Jack Carr
The bestseller will be released in a series with Chris Pratt on Prime Video from 1 July (premiered at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival). It is the story of James Reece, who heads a secret and risky Navy Seal mission during which his men are ambushed. On returning home, however, the man does not have concrete and precise memories of what happened and above all of the dynamics linked to the fact. Conspiracies, secrets and plots are the winning recipe for a heart-pounding spy story.
(Already available. Longanesi, pp. 420)
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After by Anna Todd
The After saga, born on a blackberry during bus rides as a One Direction fanfiction, becomes a hugely successful film franchise (available on Prime Video, with the fourth installment on the way). It became such a cult that it even spawned a graphic novel. On the screen they lend their faces to the two deeply in love and tormented protagonists Hero Fiennes Tiffin and Josephine Langford (Hardin and Tessa). There are those who define it as a young adult version of 50 shades of gray and those who see it as a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, however for everyone it remains an unprecedented literary case.
(Already available. Sperling & Kupfer, pp. 185)
Source: Vanity Fair
