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A review by melissasbookshelf
Random Harvest by James Hilton
3.0
Random Harvest is one of my favorite movies. Made in 1942 and starring Greer Garson and Ronald Coleman, this movie tugged at my heartstrings. So, when the Kindle version of the original book became available, I wanted to read the story that inspired this much loved movie. Unfortunately, in this case, the movie for me was actually better than the book. The book is more philosophical and doesn't focus on the bittersweet story as much as the movie. More concerned with the war and politics of the day, this book is interesting, but lacks the warmth that the movie creates. Mrs. Rainer is somewhat of a mystery and remains an aloof character. Charles is at times sympathetic and at times annoying.
Unlike the movie, the book begins with a train conversation in which two men meet and Charles reveals to the stranger that there is a span of time after he fought in WWI where he can't remember. He shares how he was found after being hit by a car and cannot remember why he was in Liverpool nor what had happened to him in the previous two years between being wounded in the war and then being hit by a car. The story progresses from there with Charles always searching for the lost memories. The book is divided into 5 parts and goes from past to present until we are finally clued in to what happened during those missing years towards the end of the book. The movie takes the opposite approach as we see what happened when Charles was wounded to the present. In someways, this approach is more meaningful because the audience knows the truth while we painfully watch Charles fumbling around for his lost memories. The book is worth a read, but to me the movie will always be better.
Unlike the movie, the book begins with a train conversation in which two men meet and Charles reveals to the stranger that there is a span of time after he fought in WWI where he can't remember. He shares how he was found after being hit by a car and cannot remember why he was in Liverpool nor what had happened to him in the previous two years between being wounded in the war and then being hit by a car. The story progresses from there with Charles always searching for the lost memories. The book is divided into 5 parts and goes from past to present until we are finally clued in to what happened during those missing years towards the end of the book. The movie takes the opposite approach as we see what happened when Charles was wounded to the present. In someways, this approach is more meaningful because the audience knows the truth while we painfully watch Charles fumbling around for his lost memories. The book is worth a read, but to me the movie will always be better.