Off the books
Brunch|April 08, 2023
It happens more often than you'd think. These 10 screen adaptations are better than the novels they are based on
Off the books

1 Sacred Games, 2018-2019

Vikram Chandra's 2006 novel about cops and crime in Mumbai was critically acclaimed but not widely read. The show, Netflix's first original Indian series, gave the story the platform it deserves. Saif Ali Khan is in top form, there are cliff-hangers, a cat-and-mouse chase, and characters like Bunty, Kukoo and Gaitonde. No wonder it's found fans outside India as well.

2 Normal People, 2020 Paul Mescal and Daisy EdgarJones play on-again, off-again lovers in small-town Ireland. Of course, Sally Rooney's 2018 bestseller of the same name is great. But there's just too much internal monologue, and too little punctuation. Plus, being able to see such tortured love play out on screen is a treat.

3 True Blood, 2008-2014

HBO took the first book of Charlaine Harris's The Southern  Vampire Mysteries (2001-2013), and turned it into a dark, sexy fantasy horror drama, without skimping on the gore, even mocking American conservatism along the way.

4 Leila, 2019

This story is from the April 08, 2023 edition of Brunch.

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This story is from the April 08, 2023 edition of Brunch.

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