The Green Mile: The Complete Serial Novel

I've a project to read two books by each of the ten novelists who will be lecturing at the Maui Writers Conference this summer. When I finished The Blackstone Chronicles by John Saul, a serial horror novel which the author says he was encouraged to write by King's success with The Green Mile, I took a break to engage in another pending project; to compare the book and video versions of The Green Mile.My stepdaughter is an avid reader and a Stephen King fan. After enjoying the video version of The Green Mile, I asked her if the book was significantly different. She said it was very similar, but varied in some respects. It occurred to me that comparing the two might be helpful in understanding the difference between book and script writing.It was. Both the movie and the book are five-star. Despite their similarities, they have a different feel, and doing both is a worthy endeavor. I recommend you read the book first, but that's not crucial.My review technique was to read about a scene, study its video version and then read some more; I used the rewind button frequently. This method percolates up some interesting trivialities. In the movie, Coffey says, "as lonely as a sparrow in the rain," but in the book he says "as lonely as a robin in the rain." King is an expert writer in every respect, and I'm certain his research is faithfully done. I suspect "robin" was a boo-boo though. Stephen King hangs out in New England, where robins are plentiful. Coffey is a southern boy, and not too bright. He never saw a robin.Another triviality that smacks of a research problem is the year. The events in the book happen in 1932, whereas the movie is set in 1935. Some Hollywood sharpie may have noted that a crucial prop was not available in 1932. I couldn't spot the problem, perhaps because I wasn't born until 1936.Maybe the clip from the Fred Astaire movie shifted the date. Although watching movies in the "Resource Room" at the Georgia Pines home for "wayward droolers" is featured in the book, the tear-jerking dancing scene is not. Congratulations Hollywood, you gave me a real Kleenex moment. I doubt if even a master like Steven King could write that cry, however, or even want to. Hollywood has the advantages of sight and sound to stir our emotions. Movies, after all, are drama; a combination of facial expressions, artful camerawork and musical scoring designed to grab us in the groin. Writing, on the other hand, can suck us into the minds of the characters, and make us think.That is why I say the feel of the two versions, two unlike mediums, is different. This is a story about death. While reading the book, I shuddered on occasion with a sense of mortality, my mortality. King made me droop his book onto my lap as I stared at the willow tree out back, he having reminded me that my time is running out.The video, on the other hand, often had me wiping my eyes, as much from laughter as the pathos, the response to good actors playing out a predicament and making it feel real. Still, even with the facilities of the pause and rewind buttons, the movie is about this scene, then the next one, and moving right along. How often have you walked out of the theater after the show before you could begin to think about it?The acting is excellent. Expressions, pauses, posture and stutters suggest what is going on in the character's head, but they cannot compete with the power of the written word. When Paul and his wife visit Melinda, who is dying from a brain tumor, King writes for Paul: "...my eye happened on the blue hearth rug by the fireplace. It occurred to me that it should have the shade of tired old limes, because now this room was just another version of the Green Mile." Hollywood can't do that.Writers work with protagonists, whereas scriptwriters work with stars. Although the movie dialogue is usually verbatim the book, the best lines from Brutus and Dean, like "What happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile," are given to Tom Hanks. In the book, when Brutus and Paul (Hanks) confront Percy in the room with Old Sparky, Percy drives the end of the scene and forces the handshake. In the movie, Tom Hanks never loses control of the altercation. Hollywood's tendency to sharply distinguish between its villains and heroes sometimes overly exaggerates reality, although it was not offensive in this case.There are some subtle differences for the role of women. In the book, King points out that only two women attended Delacroix's execution; there are several in the movie. In the book, Paul's wife pointedly excuses herself when the men plan their risky mission, whereas in the movie she is an influential participant. Hollywood, I suppose, is more politically sensitive than King.There are only two major differences between the two works. In the book, Paul sleuths the solution to uncertainties about the death of the Detterick twins. The movie accomplishes this with dramatic visualization by making one of Ki...

Our 12 year old was on a reading binge and ecstatic to receive this book. He preferred the book to the movie, and he absolutely loved the movie.

It was hard to follow at times but overall a good read . One of the classics for all time

Books don't usually make me cry, but this one did. King has a gift when it comes to creating characters that you emotionally bond with. This story is about horrible men in a horrible place contrasted with innocence and noble spirit. That conflict gives this book its power to capture your emotions. I don't like King's horror novels but books like The Green Mile prove what a proficient, skilled, and diverse writer he is. Highly recommended.

Good story, entertaining and doesn’t feel as dragged out as some of Stephen King’s other work.