Wonder Boys suffers from having had a very good and largely faithful film made of it, at least if you watch the film first.

The elements of the novel the movie captures it captures very faithfully, with just the same tone and humour. But experiencing them a second time in either direction is always going to be a slightly duller affair.

The huge chunks of the novel that were left out of the adaptation expand on characters and motivations quite explicitly. But here again, going from movie to book you'll find these ruin the fun flow of events you remember from the film, and make Grady less Everyman; in the film these are mad hijinx that could have fallen into anyone's mid-life crisis, in the novel we find a fleshed out character who has made and continues to make particular choices.

In short, more than any other book/movie adaptation I've encountered, with Wonder Boys experiencing either after first experiencing the other is likely to be a slightly boring event for you. ( )

I think this is the best story of mid-life absurdity I have read. Michael Chabon is one of my favorite authors, and although this is not my favorite of his novels, I thoroughly enjoyed it! ( )

One of my all-time favorite books. ( )

One of my all-time favorite books. ( )

One of my all-time favorite books. ( )