After 'The Lovely Bones,' Here Are Five Novels Peter Jackson Should Consider

There's no denying it. Peter Jackson knows his way around an adaptation. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was stellar, as we all know. And "King Kong," for all of it's issues, carried with it the spirit of the original. Now he's on to "The Lovely Bones," Alice Sebold's beautiful-yet-disturbing story of a young girl's trip through the afterlife following her murder at the hands of a sadistic serial killer. He had his work cut out for him there. Making that story something an audience can stomach without succumbing to overblown emotion is nigh on impossible.

I suppose that’s why it’s so strange that Jackson came to direct an adaptation of the massively successful novel in the first place. “The Lovely Bones” is a quiet book, a narrative crushed underneath the weight of trauma and loss, it’s only release in the eventual comeuppance visited upon its villains and the emotional catharsis offered to its leads. Jackson, for all of his talent in breathing new life into old ideas, makes big movies. They are loud, long, brash beasts of creation. Everything “The Lovely Bones” isn’t, really.

It's my hope that “The Lovely Bones” opens even more opportunities for Jackson to adapt fiction to the screen. The filmmaker and his writing partner/wife Fran Walsh have a unique talent for transforming the written word into a visual story. The "Rings" films were fantastic interpretations of their source material, and they are well suited to Jackson’s predilection for big scenes. Here are five other great novels that would be perfect for the man...

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne
Jules Verne’s classic adventure/anti-British Empire tract is one of the 19th century’s finest works of fiction. It’s got big characters, a giant submarine, monsters and unseen lands. That said, Monsieur Aronax’s journey with Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus could benefit from a bit of modernization. Both the novel and the vintage motion picture deserve to rest in the annals of history. Jackson could bring his trademark ethereal direction to the undersea adventure, bringing the story to a new audience while staying somewhat faithful to the 19th century roots. And let's be honest: who doesn't want to see Andy Serkis play a giant squid?

“A Winter’s Tale” by Mark Helprin
Mark Helprin has fallen out of popular consciousness since his heyday during the 1980s and ‘90s, but his lyrical, dense novels have lost none of their potency in the intervening years. While Jackson could do great things with Helprin’s more personal tales, particularly the World War I epic “Soldier of the Great War” and the surreal “Memoirs From an Antproof Case,” his talents would best serve “A Winter’s Tale.” It is the story of an alternate New York City at the beginning, and later the end, of the 20th century. Tribes of mad swordsman live in the marshes surrounding Manhattan, heroes live in the scaffolding of Grand Central Station and the Brooklyn Bridge has the potential to lead to heaven as well as the outer boroughs. Jackson would knock it out of the park; just look at his magical portrayal of the Big Apple in "Kong."

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury
My first inclination would be to suggest that Jackson turn his hand to what is arguably Bradbury’s finest work, “Dandelion Wine.” That novel might be a bit too subtle for Jackson’s style, though the same could be said for "The Lovely Bones." "Wine"’s semi-sequel, however, is perfect. “Something Wicked” plays with a lot of the same themes as “King Kong”; the world is walking a tight rope between the old and new worlds, with the logical and scientific bucking uncomfortably up against the supernatural and unknown. It’s got ghosts, evil carnies, people trapped inside tattoos. I would be shocked if Jackson wasn’t already a fan of this book.

“Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke
Shifting from the legit 19th century of “Under the Sea” to the mock-19th of “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” makes more sense than you might think. Susanna Clarke’s novel about a Victorian England where magic is commonplace would suit not only Jackson’s talent for high fantasy, but also his capacity for humor. His movies are invariably at their best when they’re allowed moments away from the dour, serious and stoic, and allowed to be a little silly. That’s why “Dead Alive” and “The Frighteners” work so well. Clarke’s novel allows for both the spectacular world creation as well as some levity.

“His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman
I know, New Line Cinema and Chris Weitz made a movie out of “The Golden Compass,” the first story in Pullman’s trilogy, two years ago. Well you know what? That movie was atrocious. Solid gold performances from Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig couldn’t save this completely hapless and incompetent attempt to create another fantasy franchise cash cow in the wake of Jackson’s “Rings” trilogy. The only thing New Line could do to make everything all right is to pull a “Hulk” and reboot the entire series with a brand new adaptation helmed by Jackson and released in, say, 2014. Jackson would have more respect for the source material, particularly now that he has experience, of whatever quality, telling the story of a girl’s coming of age.

Tags peter jackson, The Lovely Bones