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Waking the Dead (novel)
Encyclopedia
Waking the Dead is a 1986
novel by Scott Spencer. The book, Spencer's fourth, was adapted into a 2000
film of the same name
starring Billy Crudup
and Jennifer Connelly
.
refugees, Williams is killed by a terrorist car-bomb. Years later, Pierce is offered the Democratic candidacy for an Illinois
congressional seat, but during the campaign Pierce becomes convinced he has seen and heard Williams on several occasions. As Pierce becomes obsessed with finding out if his lost lover is alive, he is pushed to the brink of insanity and begins to fear he has become fully absorbed and changed by the political system Williams so hated.
Endless Love
. Michiko Kakutani
, book reviewer for The New York Times
compared Waking the Dead to the 1976
Brian De Palma
film Obsession. Both feature male protagonists who lose their lover to a violent death, then later believe they have been brought back to life.
Although Kakutani said Spencer succeeded in fleshing out Pierce's world (including his upbringing and family life), in her view the author was less successful in convincing the readers of Pierce's love for Williams. Kakutani said, "his orchestration of Fielding's continuing obsession with Sarah becomes an increasingly empty display of narrative pyrotechnics". Kakutani also said the first-person narration Spencer mastered in Endless Love, was less successful in Waking the Dead and occasionally "tend[s] to come across as simple-minded or phony digressions". Paul Gray, of Time Magazine
, said the Pierce character was too unlikeable, citing his "overweening self-pity (and) penchant for purple prose."
, who adapted Waking the Dead into a film, first read the book in 1991 and knew he wanted to make it into a movie before he finished it. Gordon said he was especially touched by a scene in which Pierce is on a plane taking Williams' body home and silently wishing the plane would crash: "I started to cry and I thought, I want to tell this story. I'll never forget the chill that ran through me. Then I finished the book and I was sure I had to tell it. I saw it. I saw what it looked like, I saw what it sounded like, I suddenly pictured what the cinematography would be like." Gordon said he particularly identified with Fielding Pierce, and saw parallels between in Pierce's feelings for Williams and Gordon's own love for his wife: "I can imagine if I ever lost Rachel that I would be devastated and go mad and have to work my way back to appreciating what I had gotten from her instead of dwelling on the loss." Gordon remained so faithful to the book during his adaptation that the first cut of the movie was three hours long; he shortened it to 105 minutes by trimming subplots, stories and unnecessary scenes.
1986 in literature
The year 1986 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Michael Grade. Controller of BBC One, axes plans to televise Ian Curteis's The Falklands Play.-New books:*Kingsley Amis - The Old Devils...
novel by Scott Spencer. The book, Spencer's fourth, was adapted into a 2000
2000 in literature
The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...
film of the same name
Waking the Dead (film)
Waking the Dead is a 2000 American drama film directed by Keith Gordon. The screenplay by Robert Dillon is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Scott Spencer.-Plot:...
starring Billy Crudup
Billy Crudup
William Gaither "Billy" Crudup is an American actor of film and stage. He is well known for his roles as guitarist Russell Hammond in Almost Famous, Will Bloom in Big Fish, and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. He also starred in the 2007 romantic comedy film Dedication, alongside Mandy Moore...
and Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American film actress, who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before making her motion picture debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America...
.
Plot introduction
The book is a love story about two passionate liberals with vastly different approaches to their ideologies: Fielding Pierce is a lawyer and aspiring politician, and Sarah Williams is a social activist who despises the political system. During a mission to assist ChileanChilean people
Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European immigrant origin...
refugees, Williams is killed by a terrorist car-bomb. Years later, Pierce is offered the Democratic candidacy for an Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
congressional seat, but during the campaign Pierce becomes convinced he has seen and heard Williams on several occasions. As Pierce becomes obsessed with finding out if his lost lover is alive, he is pushed to the brink of insanity and begins to fear he has become fully absorbed and changed by the political system Williams so hated.
Reception
Waking the Dead was eagerly anticipated following the Spencer's previous novel, the 19791979 in literature
The year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
Endless Love
Endless Love
Endless Love may refer to:*Endless Love, a novel by Scott Spencer*Endless Love , released in 1981 and starring Brooke Shields, based on the novel**Endless Love...
. Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
, book reviewer for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
compared Waking the Dead to the 1976
1976 in film
The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
film Obsession. Both feature male protagonists who lose their lover to a violent death, then later believe they have been brought back to life.
Although Kakutani said Spencer succeeded in fleshing out Pierce's world (including his upbringing and family life), in her view the author was less successful in convincing the readers of Pierce's love for Williams. Kakutani said, "his orchestration of Fielding's continuing obsession with Sarah becomes an increasingly empty display of narrative pyrotechnics". Kakutani also said the first-person narration Spencer mastered in Endless Love, was less successful in Waking the Dead and occasionally "tend[s] to come across as simple-minded or phony digressions". Paul Gray, of Time Magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, said the Pierce character was too unlikeable, citing his "overweening self-pity (and) penchant for purple prose."
Film adaptation
Film director Keith GordonKeith Gordon
Keith Gordon is an American actor and film director.-Life and career:Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Barbara, an actress, and Mark Gordon, an actor and stage director. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James...
, who adapted Waking the Dead into a film, first read the book in 1991 and knew he wanted to make it into a movie before he finished it. Gordon said he was especially touched by a scene in which Pierce is on a plane taking Williams' body home and silently wishing the plane would crash: "I started to cry and I thought, I want to tell this story. I'll never forget the chill that ran through me. Then I finished the book and I was sure I had to tell it. I saw it. I saw what it looked like, I saw what it sounded like, I suddenly pictured what the cinematography would be like." Gordon said he particularly identified with Fielding Pierce, and saw parallels between in Pierce's feelings for Williams and Gordon's own love for his wife: "I can imagine if I ever lost Rachel that I would be devastated and go mad and have to work my way back to appreciating what I had gotten from her instead of dwelling on the loss." Gordon remained so faithful to the book during his adaptation that the first cut of the movie was three hours long; he shortened it to 105 minutes by trimming subplots, stories and unnecessary scenes.