In general,
when I read a book on which a film was based, I like to make comparisons, to
understand the choices made to make this type of transposition possible, and to
give the characters the faces of the actors, during my reading experience.
In this
case I couldn’t do it, because I couldn’t remember anything about the film. I
thought that going on in reading my memory would be awakened, but that wasn’t
the case. I don’t know if it is due to the fact that the film had not impressed
me (yet it seems to me that I liked it) or the excessive differences between
the two products. The fact is, I found myself reading this book without knowing
anything about the story and I could therefore enjoy all the twists.
This novel
is part of a pattern typical of many of Crichton’s successful works. The core
of it is a scientific/technological topic, in this case the extreme conditions
of a submarine base to which a sci-fi “discovery” is added (I won’t give any
details to avoid spoilers), on which the author provides us with a lot of
information throughout the book. Around it he creates a story with a
protagonist, a psychologist called Norman, which is narrated from the point of
view of the latter. Then he adds another whole series of characters, each with
their own role and characteristics. In this context, the
scientific/technological element appears perfectly under control, but in
reality this is only what the characters are falsely convinced of. At some
point, however, something goes wrong, yet another demonstration that making a
not entirely considered use of science and technology, driven by curiosity and
the desire for discovery, is always a big mistake. And from that moment on, the
characters begin to die, except for a few, who are eventually saved.
To all
this, in this novel, a strong psychological element is added. Yes, because the
answers that the characters are looking for are not in the subject of their
research, but inside themselves. And “Sphere” is nothing but Norman’s
psychological journey, who as a normal man in an exceptional situation brings
out the worst and the best of himself.
Everything
takes place whilst keeping the reader turning the pages and forcing him to
continue reading a book that has a structure that is anything but traditional
(there are no numbered chapters, but a set of scenes without interruption,
occasionally interspersed with a title), up to the ending, which, if we think
about it, is the only one possible for such a story.
Sphere on Amazon.
The book made me think and wonder. Unreliable narratives, near future tech. Standard reaction to the author. If his best work is a good meal at a white linen tablecloth restaurant, Sphere is dinner at The Olive Garden. The movie is a McRib.
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