Albert Nobbs
by George Moore
I bought this novella sight unseen because I had such a great appreciation and emotional reaction to the film. It was incredibly different from what I’d expected, and while I liked the film version infinitely better, it was interesting to read the original inspiration.
Glenn Close herself was one of the screenwriters of the film, and while I don’t know how close the film was to the play adaptation, I have an incredible respect for the screenwriters. The novella was, essentially, a fireside retelling of the story. A nameless narrator sits with his (or her, now that I think about it) friend Alec. “Let me tell you a story I heard,” is the writing tone. It’s written in a common Irish style, with borderline run-on sentences and interjections of “I tell you” and the like to remind readers the book is a fireside chat. At 100 pages, the story moves very quickly, a great difference to the gentle pace of the film. But again, if you were telling the story to your friend, you probably wouldn’t take two hours to do it.
As you can tell, I haven’t said anything about the plot of Albert Nobbs. It’s my recommendation that you watch the movie, with absolutely no prior knowledge of the plot, and then if you liked it and wanted to read George Moore’s original, do so. If you read the book first, I feel the film’s impact will be greatly lessened. Hats off to the screenwriters (and the playwright, if applicable) for an incredibly moving and imaginative adaptation.
Glenn Close herself was one of the screenwriters of the film, and while I don’t know how close the film was to the play adaptation, I have an incredible respect for the screenwriters. The novella was, essentially, a fireside retelling of the story. A nameless narrator sits with his (or her, now that I think about it) friend Alec. “Let me tell you a story I heard,” is the writing tone. It’s written in a common Irish style, with borderline run-on sentences and interjections of “I tell you” and the like to remind readers the book is a fireside chat. At 100 pages, the story moves very quickly, a great difference to the gentle pace of the film. But again, if you were telling the story to your friend, you probably wouldn’t take two hours to do it.
As you can tell, I haven’t said anything about the plot of Albert Nobbs. It’s my recommendation that you watch the movie, with absolutely no prior knowledge of the plot, and then if you liked it and wanted to read George Moore’s original, do so. If you read the book first, I feel the film’s impact will be greatly lessened. Hats off to the screenwriters (and the playwright, if applicable) for an incredibly moving and imaginative adaptation.