Music Babble

Spielberg certainly lightened the tone, although I think it's defensible in the case of this particular film because you can see it right on the poster that it's part of the point--war horrors and explosions in the background, a boy playing with an airplane in the foreground. It's a very visual book but differently so than a lot of other books that could be called "visual."

J. G. Ballard has a cameo in the movie, I think he was basically happy with it but it's definitely been filtered through Spielberg sensibility--the missing link between E. T. and Schindler's List.

I never read Selby (when I see his name the first thing I think of is that one of his books/films inspired the name of the best Simpsons episode!) but I did read The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie and didn't read any other Spark books, I think Nick E. or Eric S. might have recommended a few but I didn't read them. I...uhm, didn't dislike TPOMJB, but...I don't think I really got whatever point she was trying to make. Something about elitism and a bit of satire and I don't remember what of.