The Descendants - the novel

I seem to be following a pattern of seeing movies and then reading the book on which the movie is based. I am not sure why - perhaps I am hoping for more insight, or something extra in print that just wasn't there on screen.

I should add that I am typing with my chihuahua on my lap and she has managed to take all my keyboard room. This may be a short post, unless she decides to go and snooze elsewhere (unlikely). So, back to the one finger typing.

The Descendants is a novel expanded from a short story written by the same author. I think this shows, as the plot (while clever) starts to run out of steam after a while. It's as though there isn't quite enough material. The first person narrative eventually becomes a little bit dull and I found myself starting to skim over some of the narrator's more tedious introspections. Unfortunately one can't do this in real life.

Certainly this novel was more interesting than 'Albert Nobbs', which is a short story or novella previously discussed on this blog. It might be interesting to insert Albert, the cross dressing intergalactic class bore, into The Descendants.

Better yet, introduce the Mysterons into both The Descendants and Albert Nobbs. After telling everyone of their latest (undoubtedly useless) plan, the Mysterons would then be foiled and would retire to a corner to sulk. They would then dream up another plan destined to achieve stuff all to the power of ten. Go the Mysterons.

In Albert Nobbs meets the a Mysterons, it could go something like this:

Enter Nobbs: "good morning Marm"
Lady Of Quality: "Good morning Nobbs"
The Mysterons: "This is the Voice of the Mysterons. Nobbs is a woman disguised as a man. Now that we have ruined the plot we are going to destroy something. We'll get back to you."
Nobbs: "Those Mysterons really suck"

All we need to do is get all of them on the Island of the Evil Dr Klahn and that would really be a film worth seeing.