Submitted by AxidentalMe t3_z4ph9t in books
jetpacktuxedo t1_ixsogcz wrote
I also just finished reading this a few weeks ago (followed by a rewatch of the almost-entirely-unrelated Netflix series of the same name). I really loved experiencing the whole thing through Eleanor's eyes without ever knowing whether the things that were happening had actually happened or not, only knowing that Eleanor had perceived them to happen that way.
birthdaygirl11 t1_ixt5nza wrote
how did you find reading it after watching the Netflix show? i started reading the book but found it challenging to treat it as completely separate, got a little confusing!
jetpacktuxedo t1_ixtfmvv wrote
It didn't bother me that much, but I watched the Netflix show about a year or so before I read the book so my memories were a little fuzzy. It made some of the early flirting with Luke a bit weird but that was about it really.
accioqueso t1_ixusyld wrote
I saw the series, read the book, and then rewatched the series. I love both. I think the show did an absolutely brilliant job taking the tones and the theme of mental illness and making a modern, “inspired by” series. Its an entirely separate entity and I didn’t care at all that it wasn’t a retelling.
ZardozSpeaks t1_ixvo61y wrote
Now watch the 1963 movie "The Haunting." I couldn't watch the series because of this film.
herbalhippie t1_iy1nb7x wrote
I watched this movie for the first time as a child, maybe 9 or 10? I was on tv one afternoon. I loved it and it has been a favorite ever since. It's what's been keeping me from watching the new series too.
ZardozSpeaks t1_iy1osyt wrote
The great things about the movie don’t seem to be part of the series. For example, you never see the ghosts in the movie. They make their presence known in other ways that are absolutely terrifying, but you never see them. Your imagination takes up the slack. The characters are brilliant. The script is a master class in subtext. There are little hints of things if you pay attention (why are there so many mirrors???). And the first ten minutes comprise one of the best movie opening sequences ever.
The series…? I lasted about 20 minutes. No mystery, the ghosts are right there, and the tropes only flew faster as I watched.
I wish I could enjoy the series. I love haunted house and ghost stories. I just can’t watch this.
It’s kinda like my relationship to Stranger Things. I got about four episodes in and had to stop. It was all stuff I’d seen before. There was nothing new. And it was done better the first time I’d seen it in the 1980s.
herbalhippie t1_iy1p7o8 wrote
Yes, that's what I love about it too, so much of it is left up to your imagination.
Here is a rabbit hole for you. Have you ever seen this? Your comment about mirrors made me remember I'd bookmarked it.
ZardozSpeaks t1_iy1phv9 wrote
Oooo! I think I may found this once and then forgot about it. Thanks… I think. Time to get my rabbit suit on. I may not be back for a while. :)
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