This read took no time at all

I admit that I only picked this up because I was looking for something to fit the “Not My Wheelhouse” category in #CBR10Bingo.  I found it while searching my local library, having concluded that I would not typically read science fiction or graphic novels.  So this seemed to fit the category twice over.

I remember attempting to read this book when I was in high school, and hating it.  I don’t think that I ever finished it.  When Disney came out with a movie version this year, I was adamant about not seeing it. So I was pleasantly surprised that I kind of, sort of, almost enjoyed this book.  I suspect, as someone that does not like science fiction, that the best part for me was that I was able to get the jist of the story, without having to read all of the endless descriptions that are part of the original novel.  The fact that I read it while sitting on a beach, probably helped as well.  It went quickly.  I finished it well before my beach day came to an end.

What I missed though was all of the character development that you typically get when reading a good book.  It was almost like when a book becomes a movie, much of the nuance and depth gets lost.  I found that I didn’t care very much about any of the characters, and frankly, most of them annoyed me.  Perhaps that would also be true if I had read the original; I will never know.  There was nothing wrong with the illustrations, and it was clear when the illustrator was trying to depict emotion, etc, but it just was not the same as reading well written prose.

I did find what I will now categorize as one of my favorite quotes and perfectly matches my philosophy on life.  When Charlie Wallace admonishes Mrs. Who for quoting all of the time, Mrs. Which reminds him “And we mustn’t lose our sense of humor.  The only way to cope with something deadly serious is to try to treat it a little lightly.”

#CBR10Bingo: Not My Wheelhouse