8 Phenomenal Books Begging For New Adaptations

By Samuel Clements /

1. The Catcher In The Rye

Finally, J.D Salinger€™s Catcher In The Rye has never been adapted to film, despite several attempts, which is probably explained in the fact that the first page of the book calls the narrator€™s brother a €˜prostitute€™ for writing Hollywood films rather than books. Throughout the book Holden Caulfield, the symbol of teenage angst, notes how real life is not like a movie- following a fight he says it is not as easy to knock someone out as it seems in a movie, and he frequently tells us what he would do if he was living a film. These moments offer an opportunity to place action sequences in a book which is fundamentally about a teenage boy€™s apprehension at growing up. There are a multitude of scenes which can easily be adapted by cinema; the scene where he fights with his roommates; the symbolism of the red hunting cap; the lone walks through New York; and the strangest prostitute experience in literature, where Caulfield wants to just talk to the prostitute. Salinger refused to allow a film while he was alive, and while he has passed away, his estate is still apprehensive; the book€™s narrative is almost as applicable to teenagers today as it was fifty years ago, allowing it to remain relevant without a film adaptation. However, it is one of the greatest classic books to never be adapted to the screen. The Catcher in the Rye is begging to be made into a film; it would be a commentary on the image saturated world we live in through an image based vehicle. This irony is what makes literature amazing, and it is what would make The Catcher in the Rye such a successful film. Which books do you think deserve to be adapted into new films? Share your picks below in the comments thread below.