Since 1900, literature has been an abundant source of inspiration for film directors and screenplay writers alike.
This year will deliver plenty of exciting book-to-screen adaptations that are already ruffling some feathers among book fans. So if you are looking for your next great read, then perhaps you might want to give these books a try to see if the upcoming movies will do justice to the original.
Boy Swallows Universe (Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton)
Brisbane, 1983: A lost father, a mute brother, a mum in jail, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious criminal for a babysitter. It’s not as if Eli’s life isn’t complicated enough already. He’s just trying to follow his heart, learning what it takes to be a good man, but life just keeps throwing obstacles in the way – not least of which is Tytus Broz, legendary drug dealer.
But Eli’s life is about to get a whole lot more serious. He’s about to fall in love. And he has to break into prison on Christmas Day, to save his mum.
A story of brotherhood, true love and the most unlikely of friendships, Boy Swallows Universe will be the most heartbreaking, joyous and exhilarating novel you will read all year.
Release Date: 11 January 2024
Starring: Phoebe Tonkin, Lee Halley, Travis Fimmel
Buy it on AmazonExpats (The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee)
“This fantastic book opens with a feeling of both the boredom and the glamour of being an expatriate in Hong Kong. The pampered wives of lawyers and top executives play tennis by day and go to dinner parties at night, but behind all this, are they happy? In contrast to these characters, a perpetual “failure” Korean American Ivy League graduate has to come to terms with a terrible event in her recent past.
The many difficulties and trials the brilliant heroines have to face only reinforce the main theme of the novel. Self acceptance. The descriptions are lovely and emotions that the writer evokes are poignant and realistic. It shows the strength of different women who, although it looks like everything has been given to them, can overcome difficulty and show solidarity to survive. A brilliant read!”- Cat
Release Date: 26 January 2024
Starring:Nicole Kidman, Ji-young Yoo, Jack Huston
Buy it on AmazonArgylle (Argylle by Elly Conway)
One Russian magnate’s dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA’s most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special.
Enter Argylle. His life came to a crashing halt as a teenager. Since then he has been treading water, building barriers between himself and the world. Until one moment of compassion and brilliance will bring him to the attention of the most powerful woman in the secret world…
Release Date: 2 February 2024
Starring: Dua Lipa, Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell
Buy it on AmazonLisa Frankenstein (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
Nowadays you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has not heard of Frankenstein. Told from a young scientist’s perspective, the story of a ‘monster’ created from dead flesh in an unorthodox experiment leaves readers in dismay. The monster shows no mercy when he terrorises and murders his creator’s nearest and dearest. However, later in the novel, Mary Shelley describes a savage – who is left to fend for itself- as a complex childlike creature capable of feeling hurt and guilt, evoking the reader’s sympathy.
However, the new Netflix’s adaptation of the 1818 novel adds some romance into the mix, where a young teenage girl with a penchant for darkness accidentally re-animates a dashing Victorian corpse setting in motion a string of mysterious disappearances.
Release Date: 9 February 2024
Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Carla Gugino
Read it Free Here Buy it on AmazonShōgun (Shōgun by James Clavell)
“James Clavell’s landmark masterpiece about English sailor John Blackthorne, called Anjin-san in the book, and of his immersion in and adoption of Japanese culture remains a formidable accomplishment today.
Blackthorne is a pilot and navigator from England, working on a Dutch vessel, his seamanship and oceanographic knowledge makes him and invaluable captive for the Japanese. His heroism and loyalty, and his easy conversion to Japanese ways, makes him a principal figure in the story. Blackthorne is the western guide to Japan, his introduction provides the same to western readers. When Blackthorne arrives there is already a generations old Western presence in the guise of Portuguese sailors and Jesuit priests. Many Japanese have converted to Catholicism, but conflicts with their own way of thinking is also a ubiquitous element in this enthralling work. Wildly successful, Clavell later stated that the book made him. Besides the miniseries, there was also a Broadway play and several computer games. The success also no doubt assisted in sales for his other books and allowed Clavell to produce his Asian saga.”- Lyn
Release Date: 27 February 2024
Starring: Anna Sawai, Cosmo Jarvis, Néstor Carbonell
Buy it on AmazonDune: Part 2 (Dune by Frank Herbert)
“The second in a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel, this epic masterpiece of science fiction follows Paul Atreides, heir to the desert planet Arrakis and its most valuable asset, Spice. He finds himself thrust into a power struggle between noble houses and ultimately uncovers a conspiracy to control the entire universe. The characters are complex and nuanced, and the world building is stunning. The themes of ecology, religion, politics, and power are explored in depth without ever feeling heavy-handed. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves futuristic political intrigue.”- Janet S. J.
Release date: 1 March 2024
Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Zendaya.
Buy it on AmazonLady in the Lake (Lady in The Lake by Laura Lippman)
“Maddie is a pampered, good Jewish housewife who bolted from her marriage one day and left all the suburban comforts behind to pursue her own brand of happiness. She doesn’t know where to begin after jumping the old traditional ship, but she’s resourceful, brave and has a few secrets of her own.
Aside from Maddie, the other main character is a ghost. Cleo Sherwood, a young African American woman whose body was found in a Baltimore park’s fountain. Maddie accidentally discovered Cleo’s body and now feels responsible for finding out what really happened to Cleo.
Things get from bad to worse when another smart and sassy girl is mysteriously killed. Maddie helps to solve this crime in a chilling, genius–albeit, dangerously, naive manner. Both of the murders mentioned in this novel are true crimes from Baltimore history.”- Jewels
Release Date: 8 March 2024
Starring: Natalie Portman, Moses Ingram, Mikey Madison
Buy it on AmazonThe Watchers (The Watchers by A.M. Shine)
“Impossible to put down, this beautifully written and seriously creepy classic horror has all the feel of an original Grimm fairytale, not the Disney version but the deeply disturbing kind, where monsters are real and life is a battle for survival against the coming of the night.
The characters are layered and engaging, the story itself unnerving and clever. A word of advice: try to finish reading it in daylight as you won’t be able to sleep in the immediate aftermath.
If you like a genuinely disturbing read that is also addictive, intelligent and gives you a knockout ending then The Watchers will be for you.” -L. Barnsley
Release Date: 7 June 2024
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Siobhan Hewlett
Buy it on AmazonIt Ends With Us (It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover)
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. But his complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
Release Date: 21 June 2024
Starring: Brandon Sklenar, Blake Lively, Jenny Slate
Buy it on AmazonThe Amateur (The Amateur by Robert Littell)
“Charlie Heller is a quiet, unassuming man with a quiet, unassuming job in a back office of a large corporation. He is a crack cryptographer for the CIA – The Company. Since his boyhood he has been fascinated with untangling codes and he considers himself fortunate that he is able to pay the rent by doing a job that he so enjoys. As an added attraction, he gets to use the CIA’s super-sophisticated computer, with which he pursues his hobby. So, with a well paid job, an unusual and most interesting hobby, and the love of a wonderful woman, his beloved fiancee Sarah Diamond, Charlie Heller is a happy man.
Unfortunately, Sarah is brutally murdered by terrorists in a surprise attack at the American Embassy. Charlie, informed of the news by his sympathetic superiors, is bereft. Soon he becomes driven by a need for revenge. With his back against the wall, Heller manages to manipulate the masters of manipulation and move toward his goal of assassinating the terrorists responsible for Sarah’s death. He is an amateur working against some of the best people in the field of espionage and assassination. And they all want to take Heller out with extreme prejudice.”- J.L. Perskie
Release Date: 8 November 2024
Starring: Rami Malk, Hugh Jackman, Rachel Brosnahan.
Buy it on AmazonThe Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien)
One of the most exciting adaptations of this year, The War of the Rohirrim is inspired by a short story about the ninth king of Rohan portrayed in Tolkien’s appendices. Set two centuries before the events of The Lord of the Rings, the old legend follows Helm Hammerhand and the creation of fortress of Helm’s Deep.
When during a council meeting King Helm refuses to marry his daughter to the son of a powerful lord of Dunlendings, the confrontation results in an accidental killing of Freca, sparking a conflict between two clans. Hellbent on avenging his father’s death, Wulf launches a surprise attack on Rohan. Left with no other option but to retreat, the king and his people take refuge in the Hornburg which would later become the site of the Helm’s Deep fortress. What follows next can only be described as one of the most brutal and bloodiest battle in the Middle-Earth history where courage, unity and devotion to duty triumph over blind hatred.
Release Date: 13 December 2024
Starring: Miranda Otto, Brian Cox, Luke Pasqualino
Buy it on AmazonA Gentleman in Moscow (A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles)
“In the newly reformed Russia of 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is found guilty of posing threat to communist regime. He is sentenced to indefinite house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow, he will stay there until 1954.
Immediately on his house arrest, Rostov is moved from his luxurious suite in the Metropol to the attic, and a small room that requires him to make sacrifices of his belongings. Sacrifices in terms of possessions, liberty, social standing and relationships.
This opening scene illustrates many of the treats awaiting us in the novel – the Count at odds with the ruling party, his adherence to a gentleman’s behaviour, his courage, and the humour with which he dispatches commentary.
The character of the Count is adored as he accepts all these challenges with resolve, integrity, humour and the dignity becoming of a gentleman.” -Peter
Release Date: December 2024
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Leah Harvey, Alexa Goodall
Buy it on Amazon
Stella
Stella is a Marketing Consultant and has been writing content for Full Text Archive since 2015. When she is not writing, she is meticulously planning our social and e-mail campaigns. Stella holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Russian Literature, which has provided a broad foundation from which she continues to explore the written world.
She spends her free time reading, visiting old castles and discovering new coffee shops. She can be reached at stella