The Academy Award’s Best Picture of the year is now the New York Times-bestselling, must-read novel of 2018.“[A] phenomenally enrapturing and reverberating work of art in its own right…[that] vividly illuminates the minds of the characters, greatly enhancing our understanding of their temperaments and predicaments and providing more expansive and involving story lines.” —BooklistVisionary … —Booklist
Visionary storyteller Guillermo del Toro and celebrated author Daniel Kraus combine their estimable talent in this haunting, heartbreaking love story.
It is 1962, and Elisa Esposito—mute her whole life, orphaned as a child—is struggling with her humdrum existence as a janitor working the graveyard shift at Baltimore’s Occam Aerospace Research Center. Were it not for Zelda, a protective coworker, and Giles, her loving neighbor, she doesn’t know how she’d make it through the day.
Then, one fateful night, she sees something she was never meant to see, the Center’s most sensitive asset ever: an amphibious man, captured in the Amazon, to be studied for Cold War advancements. The creature is terrifying but also magnificent, capable of language and of understanding emotions…and Elisa can’t keep away. Using sign language, the two learn to communicate. Soon, affection turns into love, and the creature becomes Elisa’s sole reason to live.
But outside forces are pressing in. Richard Strickland, the obsessed soldier who tracked the asset through the Amazon, wants nothing more than to dissect it before the Russians get a chance to steal it. Elisa has no choice but to risk everything to save her beloved. With the help of Zelda and Giles, Elisa hatches a plan to break out the creature. But Strickland is on to them. And the Russians are, indeed, coming.
Developed from the ground up as a bold two-tiered release—one story interpreted by two artists in the independent mediums of literature and film—The Shape of Water is unlike anything you’ve ever read or seen.
“Most movie novelizations do little more than write down what audiences see on the screen. But the novel that’s accompanying Guillermo del Toro’s new movie The Shape of Water is no mere adaptation. Co-author Daniel Kraus’ book and the film tell the same story, of a mute woman who falls in love with an imprisoned and equally mute creature, in two very different ways.” —io9
Praise for The Shape of Water directed by Guillermo del Toro
Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Best Picture
Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Best Director
Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Music (Original Score)
Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Production Design
Winner of the 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Director of a Motion Picture
“With encouragement from critics and awards voters, discerning viewers should make Fox Searchlight’s December release the season’s classiest date movie—for perhaps the greatest of The Shape of Water’s many surprises is how extravagantly romantic it is.” —Variety
“It is never less than magnificent.” —TheDaily Beast
“A visually and emotionally ravishing fantasy that should find a welcome embrace from audiences starved for imaginative escape.” —The Hollywood Reporter
Awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film at the74th Annual Venice International Film Festival
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So this book is totally out of my wheelhouse for romances that I normally read, but I had heard of the movie and the sci-fi/fantasy aspect of the story intrigued me. Now that I have read the book, I decided to rent the movie to see how it compared. Stay tuned below for the movie review!
This story is told from multiple points of view, most of which I will touch on briefly below.
Richard Strickland is a soldier with very few ethics, who feels trapped in a relationship with General Hoyt due to his past misdeeds. After the Cold War, Richard is sent to the Amazon rainforest to acquire the Deus Brânquia, an amphibious man-like creature revered as a god by the locals. Unfortunately Richard loses his ever-loving mind in the rain forest, which will continue to impact him for the rest of the story. While there was an attempt to humanize Strickland with his early wants and desires to be home with his family, his cruel and murderous nature and lunacy really made it hard to sympathize with his plight.
Laney Strickland was Richard’s wife, who realized that she wanted more from life. We see her struggling with her position in her marriage and society throughout the story. She didn’t have a huge part of the narrative, but we glimpsed her life from time to time.
Dr. Bob Hoffstelter was a researcher and scientist at Occam, where the Deus Brânquia was held following its capture. Hoffstetler was more interested in the science and wonder of the sea god, and didn’t really take part in Strickland’s cruelty. Hoffstetler struggled throughout the story with his role in the experiment and the future fate of the creature. He was more of a sympathetic character, despite operating in a gray area for this tale. I liked that Hoffstetler saw the value of our heroine and didn’t treat everyone around him like they were beneath him.
Zelda D. Fuller was one of my favorite characters. She is an African American janitor in 1960s America, struggling with her place in society as the civil rights movement surges forward. I loved the comedic aspect her character brought to the story, and the relationship between Zelda and Elisa was heartwarming.
Elisa Esposito is our heroine, a scarred and mute heroine at Occam with a penchant for pinup shoes. I have to admit that the shoe aspect threw me off and I couldn’t quite picture her silver sparkly heels and janitors scrubs in my head. Eliza narrates the majority of the story and, through her, we experience feelings of wonder, hope, acceptance and love. I liked that our meek and mute character is the one who ended up with the most courage to befriend and rescue the Deus Brânquia from a very dangerous man. Yes, there is some fish sex but its not graphic and the creature was man shaped so it really wasn’t different than most shapeshifter stories in that regard. I liked the interaction between Elisa and the sea creature, particularly when they were learning to communicate and bond. All of the hardboiled eggs were weird to me… but probably just because I can’t stand them.
Giles was Elisa’s best friend and neighbor, an aged and lonely artist who we saw through some sad situations in the story. Being a homosexual septagenerian (or thereabouts) had to be extremely tough in the 1960s, and Giles despair and desperation fairly jumped off the page at me.
Deus Brânquia is the sea god/creature ripped from his home in the Amazon and stuck in a tank at Occam, where he is tortured, experimented on, and finds a ray of hope in Elisa. Deus Brânquia was not often the narrator, but I liked it when he was. His wonder at the world was captivating, and I liked his responses to his environment.
I guessed how the story would end fairly early on, but I don’t think that really detracted from the story. The narrator, Jenna Lamia, did a fantastic job with the performance. Her character affectations were distinct and engaging, and she held my attention well. The story wasn’t the easiest to follow in audio at first… but once I got used to the artsy nature and stopped trying to understand every single word and situation, I found that I was able to relax and just enjoy it.
I voluntary read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this audiobook that I received from the publisher, MacMillan Audio.
From a mute cleaning woman to an old closeted gay man to a mysterious sea monster, the twists and turns in this story kept me guessing where it would lead. Mystic, intimate and resonate.
I liked the film, but I LOVED the book. Much more character detail and story backgrounds. Well worth the read.
I just watched this movie last night and I know I will be watching it again. It blends the unknown with aspects of life and hidden life and adds in a great romance. A romance between two very different beings. She can’t talk but he gets her even though they are so different. For once in her life someone does. But the government wants to experiment and get rid of him. One man especially. But he doe not understand what he actually has. Must read book and must see movie. It is heartbreaking, very, very emotional and has the unknown, danger, violence, love across different species and so much more. And the actors in the movie are perfect for it. The writers of the book are perfect and this is so very well written and flows just the way it should. It has a surprising ending. Read the book and then watch the movie. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.
Rarely do I choose to read a book after I’ve seen the movie. I really enjoyed the movie and like the book even more — a deeper broader look at what was going on. For me the movie was focused on the love story, and granted that is still there but there is so much more. The dynamics of Strickland’s marriage and learning more about Lainie Strickland. Discovering more of the background of where the “sea creature” came from and overall the writing and symbolism were aspects I really appreciated in the reading more than the viewing.
This was probably the biggest surprise of 2020 (as far as reading goes anyway). My sister read it first and gushed about it, so I had to go for it. I had it on my wishlist ever since it came out, and when it went on sale, I dove in with both feet. So different than what I expected, and so much better than I could have ever hoped for. I expected this to just be a really weird story, but it was so much more than that. Surprisingly relevant, touching and gorgeously written, with a villain who will likely haunt my nightmares for years.
The book is much better than the movie.
I never thought anything could be as good as the movie, but wow – this one comes close
And surpasses the movie in some ways. In short, the film showed what it could – and the book expands it. It shows Strickland hunting the creature in the Amazon, and it shows how wall the characters are related.
And they are all related – from Strickland’s wife Lainie to Giles Gunderson, each one is connected.
The book is incredible, the words are like chocolate – and it makes a great standalone or complement to a great film.
Amazing characters and remarkable book. The movie was wonderful, but the book fleshes out the characters even more and gives a lot more of the back story. The audio book is mesmerizing.
I feel like I learned a lesson from this book about love and acceptance. It was a strange and round about way to get there but it still spoke to me. It just had a dark and sad feel to it that made it hard to read at times.
I absolutely loved this book! There were so many complex characters that intertwined together. It had great plot development and theme. It was a well written book.
I write in this exact genre so I expected to feel pretty critical about both the premise and its execution… and it blew me away. It was so, so good; so tight; so perfectly done. I can’t say enough good things about this story. Guillermo del Torro is a god.