Sideways: A Novel by Rex Pickett Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Sideways: A Novel
Book Review: A good trip
Summary: 4 Stars
I liked this book considerably more than I liked the movie. The main characters have relatively few redeeming qualities, but one can't help but like them. It's reminiscent of a fraternity; there are some things that happen that you can't approve of, but everyone is having fun and it makes a great story years from now. The female characters are less interesting, but it's understandable in what is essentially a buddy comedy. The heart of the book is the dialouge between the two leads and for that alone this book is worth reading.Book Review: A treasure
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was amazing. I don't know what people are talking about when they say it led to a great movie. The movie was absolute garbage in comparison with the book. They're barely the same. This book was funny and absorbing. The best books are usually about things that you're not interested in. A man's last hurrah before he gets married wasn't something I was interested in, but Rex Pickett made it so endearing. Miles wasn't nearly as boring as in the movie, he had a mischievious spark, there was likability in him. He wasn't as depressed as he was portrayed onscreen. This book was simply a joy to read.Book Review: After this mess I need a drink...
Summary: 1 Stars
I have major problems with the novel. First of all it's one of the rare times you'll hear me utter the magic words; "the movie was better than the book", but what makes this all the more depressing is just how much the movie is better. There are times when a film translates a novel so well that it surpasses the printed page, but I don't know if ever there has been a time as drastic as this. I adored Alexander Payne's `Sideways' and was so looking forward to reading Rex Pickett's novel that inspired the film. Sadly, Pickett's novel is not just a bore, but an atrocious one at that.
One major difference between the novel and the film is that in Payne's adaptation the characters seem real. They look like you and me. Miles is overweight, balding, depressed; eccentric. Maya, while beautiful, is not stick thin and is older. Jack looks washed up. He has some charm and a certain extent of good looks but he's also human. Tara is not your typical blonde bombshell. But here, in this novel, everyone is made to appear perfect. It was a turn off. Another turn off was the way in which everyone spoke to one another, especially Jack and Miles. It was so amateurish that it felt forced and immature. Another thing is that none of the characters are likable, not even slightly. Miles is whiney and unsympathetic and Jack is a complete loser who uses everyone around him and has no genuine concern for anyone around him. In fact I can't believe that anyone would want to be his friend, let alone his wife and if I were Miles I would have left him walking home on day one.
The novel sadly just comes across like a young boys fantasy trip, a trip where booze fall from the shelves and women fall at your feet. There is no emotion, no depth. Pickett attempts at the end to give Miles some sort of revelation and it doesn't fit, doesn't mesh and ends up coming short of meaningful. There are few scenes that captured my attention; a comical boar hunt that was omitted from the film being one of the only moments I can remember enjoying this read. All in all this was such a pathetically underwhelming read.
Maybe it had to do with the performances invested by Giamatti, Church and Madsen that made the film so enjoyable, but I can honestly say that this novel bored me to tears. If I had read this novel beforehand I may have never seen the film, it's that horrible.
I know I'm in the minority here, but I can't help but express my true feelings on this novel. It felt like it was 100+ pages too long, the wine descriptions went on forever, the dialog was immature and dreadful to read through and in the end I felt care or concern for no one, and that's never a good thing. I can say one thing, that reading this novel helped me to understand and appreciate Payne's Oscar win for best adapted screenplay. That he was able to take this pathetic excuse for a novel and turn it into a fun and fresh film deserves every award it can muster.
Book Review: Amusing and Deeper than It's Given Credit For
Summary: 4 Stars
These days, it's been easy for me to become jaded with the modern novel. Most of the time, current works of high brow literature come off as either high-handed or over-stated. It's as if authors have lost confidence in readers' ability to reason for themselves. The converse are authors who confuse themselves for poets and mix up their stories and language as if trying to outdo Poe--and in the end wind up making their novels into piles of self-important adjectives and sentence fragments.
Taking somewhat of a middle ground is Sideways. Witty and irreverent, it was a vastly more enjoyable experience than the movie. Pickett isn't taking himself very seriously in Sideways and it plays to his benefit. The book isn't weighed down with overwrought dialogue or a self-righteous philosophizing. In fact, much credit should be given to Pickett for writing flaws and inconsistencies into his characters and allowing them to embarass themselves. After all, Sideways is not a heroic novel of any kind. Neither is it an anti-hero novel as some might describe it. There are few if any judgements about the worth of the characters inhabiting Sideways. Those are left to the reader to manufacture.
That being said, Pickett was trying to say something with Sideways, even if he may not have been aware of it. What Sideways does so well--under the radar and without being ham-fisted about it--is point to the inconsistencies and absurdness of modern day relationships. This isn't new territory. Many authors have explored the culture of sex and relationships in the U.S., and some of them may have been more incisive and perceptive than Pickett, but few if any of them have made it as much fun to read.
I was surprised to find a few reviewers here criticizing Pickett's writing. I'm not certain they understood the device Pickett was using. The entirety of Sideways is written from the vantage point of Miles in the first person, and is meant to read as though an overly verbose writer (like Miles) wrote it. I think when some reviewers read the windy phrases in Sideways, they assumed it was Pickett's natural style rather than the clever device it was. Pickett is not so subtley poking fun at writers. To me, this trick worked and fit Mile's character.
The one thing I thought was missing was a want of introspection on the part of Miles. I think Sideways would have been a stronger work if Pickett had allowed Mile's narrative to wander a bit more--to explore things a little more deeply. I realize though, that the intent of Sideways was largely comedic, and even so enough could be read into it that I was satisfied with the story. Plus, I laughed a lot. Hard to beat that.
Book Review: As real, funny and poignant as the movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Hilarious, soulful, emotionally rich and incredible well written. I loved the movie but the book is even better. The novel drives further and deeper into the Miles and Jack characters making them even more irresistible. This is a must read. What happens next? I hope there's a sequel!