Optional reading
First of all, stop calling them "books." They're "properties." And every property that's any property has been optioned for film, probably long before it reached bookstores. The bestselling The Dirty Girls Social Club came out in May, but Jennifer Lopez has been attached for nearly a year. This summer, in fact, it seems more books are boasting big-screen ambitions, even though times are lean. But then, 2002 proved the unadaptable adaptable--the stubbornly nonlinear The Hours, the slow growth of The Orchid Thief.
Now, properties that some might label "weird," Hollywood is calling "adventurous." And also, "cheap." In the late '90s, magazine articles were going for half a million. Today, the volume of deals may be up, but the money is way down--like, maybe the mid-four figures. For a book. Er, a property. So will the books of summer be the movies of spring? Well . . . "Probably 9 1/2 times out of 10 nothing's going to happen," says Tad Floridis of rightscenter.com.
It just so happens that, of our seven favorite summer properties, four have been optioned for film. Enjoy, and remember: Reading is a movie in your mind.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (Doubleday, June 17). When Christopher Boone, an autistic 15-year-old, is blamed for the murder of his neighbor's poodle, he decides to clear his name and write a book about it--ostensibly this one, Haddon's very funny, very sweet, first novel. Christopher is a brilliant child, but he can't understand or interpret emotion. For instance, when his father shouts, "What the f - - - did I tell you, Christopher?" his son calmly contemplates the difficulties of discerning rhetorical questions. Most of the book spans only a single, short trip to London, but it's an epic story of suspense--Christopher, traveling alone for the first time, could succumb to temptation and shut down ("do groaning," as he calls it) at any moment.
FILM RIGHTS: Heyday Films, Brad Pitt, and Warner Bros. HYPE: Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves is negotiating to write and direct. CASTING CALL: Newcomer required.
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst (Little, Brown, out now). The phrase "talking dog" doesn't generally herald a book with a staggering emotional wallop. But this one's already got loads of book club cred, thanks to endorsements from opinion wranglers like Anna Quindlen. Parkhurst's concept was initially tongue in cheek, but what resulted is a study of how unspeakable truths work their way to the surface. After his wife climbs a tree and falls to her death, a linguistics professor decides to teach their dog, Lorelei, to speak. As the only witness to his wife's final hours, he reasons, she can tell him whether the climb was suicide or merely a whim gone wrong. Parkhurst wraps layers of wordplay and mythology around her tale; if you know the origins of Lorelei's name, you're on your way.
FILM RIGHTS: Heyday Films, coproducing with SekretAgent Productions. TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE TIE-IN: A stuffed dog that says, "Don't climb the apple tree!" CASTING CALL: Charismatic, obedient female Rhodesian Ridgeback (a large dog with a bristly ridge of hair down the spine).
The Effect of Living Backwards by Heidi Julavits (Putnam, June 23). Even tortured souls need something to read by the pool. Two sisters are traveling to Morocco for the elder's wedding. Their plane is hijacked--or is the crime actually an antiterrorism field exercise or some sort of twisted game? The real terrorism, however, is from this very un-Ya-Ya sisterhood. Both in their 30s, Edith is a narcissistic seductress and Alice a virginal neurotic. Sibling rivalry congeals into something entirely nasty and new when Alice is asked to interpret for the hostage negotiator. Julavits pokes and prods at altruism and its attendant anxiety, suggesting we're all driven by the secret shame of acting in self-preservation.
FILM RIGHTS: Nothing. You'd think people weren't into hijacking movies or something. TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: There's no time like a hostage crisis to tell your sister she's fat. CASTING CALL: Alice is supposed to be plump and plain, which translates into Renee Zellweger in a heavy sweater and glasses.
Bangkok 8 by John Burdett (Knopf, out now). Every backpacker in Southeast Asia plans to write a book, but Burdett is one of the few to actually do it. A former lawyer, he seems to have enrolled in one too many vipassana courses (meditation retreats de rigueur for any long-term traveler in Thailand) and swallowed Buddhism for beginners whole. What's come back out is a cop thriller that mixes up the dharma with the underbelly of Bangkok. Our guide to this den of drugs, thugs, and whores is one Sonchai Jitpleecheep, a Buddhist cop with vengeance on his mind. He's the half-white son of a Thai prostitute. He's also a former meth head, sociopolitical commentator extraordinaire, and, it appears, the only honest police officer in all of Bangkok. And he has to use his super Buddhist powers to solve the case of an American marine killed by cobras on methamphetamines.
FILM RIGHTS: Nothing completed. QUOTABLE: "He will be reborn as a louse in the anus of a dog." CASTING CALL: Keanu Reeves has played the Buddha. And a cop. Ergo, he could play a Buddhist cop. (Reviewed by Caroline Hsu)
Where the Truth Lies by Rupert Holmes (Random House, July 1). Maybe this book was a game Holmes played with himself: Could he think of an unexpected, funny, and original way to write each and every sentence? His free-flowing pastiche of 1970s culture is free of cliche and convention (except the ones he's mocking). The heroine is wiseass 26-year-old K. O'Connor, a reporter chasing a Brat-Packy comedy duo for its True Hollywood Story (in which a woman's suspicious death lurks). O'Connor's tough-girl commentary nails the era: "Everyone was named Tracy these days. Even people named Jennifer were secretly named Tracy."
FILM RIGHTS: Canadian indie director Atom Egoyan. INEVITABLE CAMEO: Holmes won three Tonys for his The Mystery of Edwin Drood. And he wrote and sang "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" in 1979. CASTING CALL: He suggested Kukla, Fran, and Ollie to USA Today.
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday, July 15). It's not as if other faiths haven't had their off days. But the exploits of the pioneer-era Mormons and of Mormon Fundamentalism, a spinoff of the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do make good reading (there's even a late-breaking chapter on Elizabeth Smart's accused kidnapper, who's on the fringe of the fringe). In 1984, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who both say they were following God's orders, murdered the wife and baby of their youngest brother, Allen. Krakauer looks for the roots of the slaying in the religion's early days. Particularly problematic is the doctrine (not held by today's LDS Church) that every church member can receive divine revelations from God--which was a real issue for founder Joseph Smith when he said one thing and God said another.
FILM RIGHTS: Agents are sniffing around. SYNERGETIC: Knopf's American Massacre, a Mormon expose by Sally Denton, arrives on June 25. HIGH CONCEPT: Krakauer's star source is the unrepentant Dan Lafferty, so perhaps a Silence of the Lambs-style thriller?
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin (Random House, out now). First published in Russia in 1998, The Winter Queen launched a mystery series now 10 volumes and 8 million copies strong. From the murky cover of its English translation, you might guess it to be dark and angst-filled--especially if you know it's set in 19th-century Russia. There's angst all right, but of the teen variety. The hero, Erast Fandorin, is a swooning romantic--barely 20--with long eyelashes and a tendency to blush at inopportune times. An orphan whose ruined father left him with naught but a fine wardrobe and a good education, Fandorin goes to work for the Moscow police instead of to university. When the humble clerk delves into a wealthy student's suicide, he stumbles (as they all do eventually) onto a diabolical conspiracy (is there any other kind?).
FILM RIGHTS: Paul Verhoeven of Robocop fame. OSCAR: Best Costume Design. Each dashing item Fandorin dons is detailed, even the Lord Byron corset purchased in hopes of inducing a "truly manly figure."
CASTING CALL: Adrien Brody, filmed through gauze to look 10 years younger.
Clues you can use
U.S. News reporter nails murderer! That's sort of what happens in My Ex-Best Friend (Simon & Schuster), a witty new mystery from former U.S. Newser Beth Brophy, which goes on sale in July. Reporter Claire Newman of Nationweek delves into the suicide (or was it?) of her former best friend, who dumped her years before without a word of explanation. So there are two mysteries, and the reporter, naturally, gets to the bottom of each. Maybe we're a little prejudiced, but we give this book five stars. For mystery fans who want more than just one good read this summer, we asked Brophy to review the competition:
The Killing Hour by Lisa Gardner (Bantam). FBI agent in training Kimberly Quincy, herself the victim of a traumatic past, is on the trail of a serial killer who targets pairs of young women during heat waves, then tortures and kills them. My only quibble: I could poke a few large holes in the resolution, such as the identity and occupation of the killer, which happen to be the same in two of the books below. Coincidence or trend?
Good Morning, Killer by April Smith (Knopf). FBI agent Ana Grey is an astute observer of human behavior on the job--in this case, tracking a serial rapist who targets teens. Yet when it comes to her personal life . . . well, we all know smart women who make foolish choices, but how many of them--especially those in law enforcement-- shoot their bad boyfriend? It's a good read until overly contrived plot twists mar the ending.
A Body to Die For by Kate White (Warner Books). The corpse of a massage therapist wrapped in Mylar (used in spa treatments) kicks off the action in Cosmopolitan Editor-in-Chief Kate White's second mystery. Wise-mouthed crime reporter Bailey Weggins solves two murders at her friend's Berkshires spa while dodging death (like a suffocating body wrap) in this light and frothy romp.
Death Gets a Time-Out by Ayelet Waldman (Berkley). Juliet Applebaum, a Los Angeles public defender turned stay-at-home mom turned PI, is back for the fourth installment of Waldman's "Mommy-Track" series. Applebaum, who crams her work between nursery school carpools, helps out Lilly, a movie star friend whose stepbrother has been charged with murder. But the plot resolution is too complex, and there are too many minor characters (Lilly's various step-relatives, their personal doctors, and their hangers-on) to keep straight. -Beth Brophy
This story appears in the June 23, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.