Literary in the City

RATING: 4.75/5

“Nanao can’t escape this thought: if it happened once it can happen again, and if it happened twice it can happen three times, and if three times then four, so we might as well say that if something happens once it’ll keep happening forever.”

Bullet Train

I’m bored to tears with the rainy, dreary weather. So, I decided to review a book that would give me (and hopefully, all of you) a much-needed boost of energy. You may have heard of Bullet Train, the movie with the star-studded cast, but be prepared to discover my version of Bullet Train: the zany, action-packed novel.

Written by Kotaro Isaka, Bullet Train follows five assassins who discover that they are all on the exact same train. As their missions begin to connect in strange ways, a chilling question arises: who will make it off the train alive? 

This book is just so much fun to read. The characters are eccentric and memorable. Even in tense situations, there’s still witty humor.

Going into this book, I was a little nervous; how does one write a 432 page novel with one setting and make sure it doesn’t stagnate? The question I really should have been asking is: will things ever stagnate? Don’t worry about being bored with this book. Something new is always happening. 

In fact, my favorite thing about this book was the plot. I can’t even begin to imagine the planning that went into putting it all together. Honestly, I can just picture one of those giant corkboards with string connecting everything. Intricate, wild, and surprising, the plot kept me on my toes.

Now, I’m not claiming to be a film-expert (I can barely use a camera properly), but the movie was kind of…terrible. The book was this shining, glorious diamond and the film was a gray, lumpy rock. 

First, the plot is slightly different in the movie. I was left massively underwhelmed by how everything played out. Second, the characters were way too different from the books. The movie focuses on action and fight scenes, but that left me unable to connect with the characters and the story.  

I’m well aware that book-to-movie adaptations are a challenge to put together. Still, I think there is a certain standard you have to hold yourself to. While I might be able to accept plot changes, I can’t accept losing the spirit of the characters and the story.

I’ve ranted plenty about my feelings concerning the movie, so I’ll end by saying one last thing. Even if you’ve watched the movie, I encourage you to try the book. There is genuinely something magical about it that makes it worthwhile.

If you’ve read Bullet Train or even watched the (atrocious) movie, let me know what you thought! ❤

Putting together something super exciting,

H.