Good morning, combrogos! (That’s Celtic for “comrades.” You’ll see why we’re “talkin’ Celt” in a moment.) Because we have no contributing diarist today, we’ll have an open forum. While we’re on the subject of “no contributing diarists,” let me gently remind you that unless some of you step up to the plate—say, next Friday, June 14 and thereafter—and start contributing diaries for this series, “Books That Changed My Life” will quietly expire.
Open forums are lots of fun, but we can’t keep on having them. Why? Because there are already two open forums run by well-known and respected Kossacks. One more would be…well, just one more. There’s already been some overlap of topics, which always starts the Boredom Bell ringing shrilly. Who needs that?
So please ponder a book that changed your life, cause me to check my kosmail, and we’ll go from there. Gracias. In the meantime, do have some delicious hot coffee—Kenyan, this time—with half-and-half and demerara sugar. And please help yourself to the best doughnuts in the country, delivered by a passing shark from Ocean City, Maryland! This morning we have a choice of toppings: Prunella, Ocean Sand, Chocolate, Sprinkles, Blueberry, Strawberry, and Plain Glazed. Yum, yum, so tasty, so terribly bad for the waistline.
Somehow I don’t think my favorite book, Magdalen Rising, by Elizabeth Cunningham, could be made into a movie. You’ll see why when I explain the plot.
In the year A.D. 14, a young girl went off to college to study. But the college was the College of Druids on the Isle of Mona, that sacred island, and one of 14-year-old, red-haired Maeve Rhuad’s fellow students was a dark-eyed, 15-year-old youth from Palestine whose name, translated into Celtic, was Esus.
Maeve and Esus fall in love. They run afoul of a prominent Druid (quickly nicknamed “Foxface” by the irrepressible Maeve), who hates both of them. He especially loathes Maeve, for reasons which become clear by the end of the story.
Given the plot, and the nature of the adventures of Maeve and Esus, I don’t see how this book could become a film—not without endangering the lives of both cast and crew. For one thing, I can’t think of a young, statuesque redhead with an outrageous personality among current Hollywood actors. Esus would be easier to cast, I think, but, well, who? Foxface would have to be an actor in his late 30s, sandy-haired, tall, and slim, who could look evil on demand.
Because such a large percentage of the potential mass market audience would be mortally offended by the plot, if Magdalen Rising ever becomes a film it would have to be an “art” film, shown in secret behind closed doors at the Toronto Film Festival.
Of course, I could be completely wrong. Who’d have thought American Psycho could be filmed? Not I—but then, I’m not an expert on Hollywood and its marketing philosophy.
So, combrogos, what about your favorite book? Has it been filmed yet, and if so, by whom? Was the book better than the movie, or were both equally compelling? If your favorite book hasn’t yet been filmed, do you think it could be? Whom would you cast in the major roles?
Wipe the crumbs from your beautiful lips—here’s a napkin, by the way—and tell us! We’re all ears!