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I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (2016) & film adaptation (2020)

BOOK 📚 AND MOVIE 🎥 REVIEW

📚I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid (2016)


Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars


Plot: A young woman is unsure about her relationship with her boyfriend Jake. Despite her complicated feelings, they take a trip to meet his parents. But something is not quite right.


Analysis: This book is a bit slow but very suspenseful. The unsettling atmosphere was fantastic and you can tell that something is off the whole time, but it’s unclear what it will amount to until the end. I find Iain Reid’s writing captivating and I liked reading most of this.


This is a book that you might want to read again immediately after finishing it now that you have the whole picture. I’m so torn on the ending because it was interesting and creative, but not really what I wanted. Ultimately, I think the book could have been better, but it was certainly interesting and different. If you’re interested, I might give Reid’s book Foe a try first.


🎥 I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)


Laura’s Rating: 1/5 Stars


Analysis: This movie was horrible. It left out all the nuance of Ian Reid’s words and replaced it with awkward and uncomfortable sequences. Yes, the book is uncomfortable as well, but in an unsettling way that builds tension. The film was simply confusing, with strange outbursts from characters.


The end had trippy, dream-like sequences that felt uncomfortable and out of place. There’s literally an interpretative dance scene and a musical number, neither of which were in the book. I’m not saying that filmmakers can’t take creative license when adapting a work for the screen, but these additions seemed nonsensical and replaced, arguably, some of the most intense parts of the story.


I truly hated this interpretation of the book and would not recommend the film to anyone.

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