The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water, by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus
Blurb:It is 1962, and Elisa Esposito—mute her whole life, orphaned as a child—is struggling with her humdrum existence as a janitor working the graveyard shift at Baltimore’s Occam Aerospace Research Center. Were it not for Zelda, a protective coworker, and Giles, her loving neighbor, she doesn’t know how she’d make it through the day. Then, one fateful night, she sees something she was never meant to see, the Center’s most sensitive asset ever: an amphibious man, captured in the Amazon, to be studied for Cold War advancements. The creature is terrifying but also magnificent, capable of language and of understanding emotions…and Elisa can’t keep away. Using sign language, the two learn to communicate. Soon, affection turns into love, and the creature becomes Elisa’s sole reason to live. But outside forces are pressing in. Richard Strickland, the obsessed soldier who tracked the asset through the Amazon, wants nothing more than to dissect it before the Russians get a chance to steal it. Elisa has no choice but to risk everything to save her beloved. With the help of Zelda and Giles, Elisa hatches a plan to break out the creature. But Strickland is on to them. And the Russians are, indeed, coming.My ReviewSo this is going to be a book slash film review. I wanted to read the book before I went to see the film, so I finished the book Friday and went to see the film Sunday and I'm finding it impossible to think about one without comparing it to the other and since the book is supposed to be a movie tie-in it seems relevant to talk about them both... I absolutely loved the book! I would have read it in one sitting if not for my pesky day job! The story was captivating and the multiple POV's really worked to weave this complex story together. All the characters were well developed, even Strickland, the villain; there were times I even felt sympathy for him - in the film his reasons weren't stated - and I liked that all their lives overlapped, even in little ways. Both Giles and Bob were so sweet that I just wanted to hug them and Bob's fate broke my heart. Elise was also a great character and I loved that she was so much more, so much braver than everyone thought she was. Finally, the creature... I loved him so much more in the book and I really enjoyed his chapters, though it would have been nice if there were more of them.It was beautifully written and there were some really touching scenes. The scene where Elisa first meets the 'creature' was amazing; it was written with real feeling and I re-read it several times - I did the same with the scene of the 'creature' and Giles after the incident with his arm.This is wonderful book about disability and being more than people expect of you. It also questions what it is to be human, whether it's about actions and acting humanly, or if it's simply the species. All in all, a great book, which is simply written but also beautifully poetic at times and written with amazing feeling. Even if you've seen the film, I recommend reading the book - which I preferred - because although the story is the same, the books goes into so much more depth and develops the characters so much more.
My favourite quotes from 'The Shape of Water': 'What would feeling like somebody feel like? To suddenly exist not only in your world, but somebody else's as well?''Man should be better than monsters.' 'Acts more creative than Strickland has patience for flowering in the victim's mind.' 'What's next, Leo? What species do we wipe out next? It it us? I hope it is. We deserve it.'
Blurb:It is 1962, and Elisa Esposito—mute her whole life, orphaned as a child—is struggling with her humdrum existence as a janitor working the graveyard shift at Baltimore’s Occam Aerospace Research Center. Were it not for Zelda, a protective coworker, and Giles, her loving neighbor, she doesn’t know how she’d make it through the day. Then, one fateful night, she sees something she was never meant to see, the Center’s most sensitive asset ever: an amphibious man, captured in the Amazon, to be studied for Cold War advancements. The creature is terrifying but also magnificent, capable of language and of understanding emotions…and Elisa can’t keep away. Using sign language, the two learn to communicate. Soon, affection turns into love, and the creature becomes Elisa’s sole reason to live. But outside forces are pressing in. Richard Strickland, the obsessed soldier who tracked the asset through the Amazon, wants nothing more than to dissect it before the Russians get a chance to steal it. Elisa has no choice but to risk everything to save her beloved. With the help of Zelda and Giles, Elisa hatches a plan to break out the creature. But Strickland is on to them. And the Russians are, indeed, coming.My ReviewSo this is going to be a book slash film review. I wanted to read the book before I went to see the film, so I finished the book Friday and went to see the film Sunday and I'm finding it impossible to think about one without comparing it to the other and since the book is supposed to be a movie tie-in it seems relevant to talk about them both... I absolutely loved the book! I would have read it in one sitting if not for my pesky day job! The story was captivating and the multiple POV's really worked to weave this complex story together. All the characters were well developed, even Strickland, the villain; there were times I even felt sympathy for him - in the film his reasons weren't stated - and I liked that all their lives overlapped, even in little ways. Both Giles and Bob were so sweet that I just wanted to hug them and Bob's fate broke my heart. Elise was also a great character and I loved that she was so much more, so much braver than everyone thought she was. Finally, the creature... I loved him so much more in the book and I really enjoyed his chapters, though it would have been nice if there were more of them.It was beautifully written and there were some really touching scenes. The scene where Elisa first meets the 'creature' was amazing; it was written with real feeling and I re-read it several times - I did the same with the scene of the 'creature' and Giles after the incident with his arm.This is wonderful book about disability and being more than people expect of you. It also questions what it is to be human, whether it's about actions and acting humanly, or if it's simply the species. All in all, a great book, which is simply written but also beautifully poetic at times and written with amazing feeling. Even if you've seen the film, I recommend reading the book - which I preferred - because although the story is the same, the books goes into so much more depth and develops the characters so much more.My favourite quotes from 'The Shape of Water': 'What would feeling like somebody feel like? To suddenly exist not only in your world, but somebody else's as well?''Man should be better than monsters.' 'Acts more creative than Strickland has patience for flowering in the victim's mind.' 'What's next, Leo? What species do we wipe out next? It it us? I hope it is. We deserve it.'
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