Both are excellent.

The Sweet Hereafter is a 1991 novel by American author Russell Banks. It is set in a small town in the aftermath of a deadly school bus accident that has killed most of the town’s children.

The novel was adapted into an award-winning 1997 film of the same name by Canadian director Atom Egoyan. …

The novel was based on an actual bus crash in Alton, Texas and its aftermath just before the book was written. …

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Different Seasons (1982) is a collection of four Stephen King novellas with a more dramatic bent, rather than the horror fiction for which King is famous.

• Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
• Apt Pupil
• The Body
• The Breathing Method

Of course the first story was adapted into one of the greatest films of all time, Shawshank Redemption.

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The Body was adapted for Stand by Me (1986). Another of the greatest films of all time.

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I couldn’t really get into the novella, The Body, however.

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Instead it was Apt Pupil that really got me.

It’s the story of the evolution of a mass shooter from age-13 to 17.

… student Todd Bowden discovers that his elderly neighbor, Arthur Denker, is Kurt Dussander—a former Nazi concentration camp commandant who is now a fugitive war criminal.

Todd, fascinated with Nazi atrocities perpetrated during World War II, blackmails Dussander, forcing him to share disturbing stories of what it was like working at Nazi extermination camps and how it felt to participate in genocide. …

I’ve not seen the film. 54% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ian McKellen stars as Dussander.

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Great book. Confusing name. 😀

Quite an epic life story.

Fast paced for a story of India written in English. I recommend it to one and all.

The Sleeping Dictionary (2013) is a novel by American writer Sujata Massey.

… Set in late Raj India, The Sleeping Dictionary tells the story of a young peasant girl, who makes her way to Calcutta and is caught between the raging independence movement and the British colonial society she finds herself inhabiting. …

While the term “sleeping dictionary” was originally coined for young women who slept with Europeans and educated them in the ways of India, Kamala turns the tables on the colonial establishment, using her talents for readings languages and men to work for India’s independence. …

There’s a Hollywood film with the same name and theme — The Sleeping Dictionary — from 2003.

This popular book series rolls on with #4 being just as charming as the rest.

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman.

Thursday Murder Club are British pensioners living in a retirement village who solve murders as a hobby.

Quite humorous. Very insightful regarding elderly life in the U.K.

Shocking news reaches them—an old friend has been killed, and a dangerous package he was protecting has gone missing.

The gang’s search leads them into the antiques business, where the tricks of the trade are as old as the objects themselves. As they encounter drug dealers, art forgers, and online fraudsters—as well as heartache close to home—Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have no idea whom to trust. …

One important and touching side story is Elizabeth’s husband Stephen declining with dementia.

While still in full mental capacity, Stephen wrote himself a letter explaining his medical condition. Elizabeth must read it to him every day as he’s already forgotten.

On the down side, the murder mystery is absurdly simplistic.

We don’t yet know who will play whom in the upcoming film adaptation.

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I like everything Tom Hanks does. And I really liked this film, as well.

A Man Called Ove is a novel by Swedish writer Fredrik Backman, first published in English 2013.

An odd book, it launched Backman’s career as a major novelist.

That said, I’ve tried to read it twice and got fed up both times.

The premise is enticing:

Ove is a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him ‘the bitter neighbour from hell.’ However, behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. …”

Age-59, Ove’s wife recently died. And he’s not handling it well.

The Swedish film adaptation looks more entertaining than the book.

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Tom Hanks plays the role in the Hollywood adaptation. To mixed reviews. I thought it was excellent.

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