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The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
125 posts | 73 read | 7 reading | 118 to read
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. Developed from the ground up as a bold two-tiered release-one story interpreted by two artists in the independent mediums of literature and film-The Shape of Water is unlike anything you've ever read or seen.
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mrp27
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
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#wondrouswednesday

Thanks for the tag @Ddzmini and @Eggs

1. Big Panda Tiny Dragon by James Norbury, I loved it!
2. Real Friends for my niece for Christmas
3. Tagged title for unusual love story.

Eggs Thanks for playing 👏🏻🥰📚 3y
25 likes1 comment
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LostInSpace
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
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Pickpick

I really liked this story however I felt it went on for a bit too long. There was quite a lot of filler, rather than actual meaningful story.

The multiple POVs mean this story is complex and really well written, I really enjoyed how the characters were entwined together, especially Giles and Zelda‘s feelings towards Elisa.

Overall enjoyable, though strange. Not sure about the fish porn 🤣

bthegood love this review - thank you !! 3y
30 likes1 comment
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Twainy
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

🎧 This narrator‘s voice is crystal clear. I was able to bump up playback to 2.5X in the end.

This book was padded with pretty prose. The torture, mental illness, murder. All good BUT if the book didn‘t end the way it did then it woulda lost me at the shower curtain scene. 🙄 I haven‘t seen the movie & don‘t plan to. The audiobook was great! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/5

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BlazinHoney
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Haven‘t seen the movie yet but I‘m really enjoying listening to this so far 😌

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VioletMoonBooks
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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rubyslippersreads 💚 this movie. 4y
28 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Dust
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro

“Imagine being a planet… Eons of loneliness, and then one day your ellipsis peaks toward that of another planet and there is a gasp of nearness. Wouldn‘t you try to make the most of it? Wouldn‘t you, too, combust and flare and explode if you had to?”

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Andrea4
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

I love the movie, I love Del Toro, so of course I love this book!!!
I enjoyed the multiple POV, I loved how everyone's story was both separate and connected. The invitation is there, connect your individual story, become part of the living picture; we are all one, we are all everything and nothing. Love is love 💙💙💙

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Andrea4
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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We will love these small, unhappy trees...

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madamereadsalot1
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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#septemberwrapup A month of YA, with the exception of my favorite for the month. The Shape of Water was SO good.

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Lizstarks
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
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“What would feeling like somebody feel like? To suddenly exist not only in your world, but someone else‘s as well?”

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IndoorDame
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
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Nevermore88 I loved the movie. A lot of my friends said it was fish porn 🙄. But I didn‘t see it that way. I thought it was amazing 5y
40 likes1 comment
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mutlee
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

What a lovely story! The alternating POVs worked really well, even seeing the mental decline of the despicable Strickland. I‘m ashamed to admit I haven‘t seen the movie yet. It‘s on my list, but I don‘t get much time for adult movies. Looking forward to enjoying the story in another medium.

ShyBookOwl This was a rare case wherein the alternating POV didn't work for me. I think I wanted the story to have a fairytale-esque or magical realism to it, but I felt Strickland's militaristic POV kind of overtook that potential. Good book, just wasn't what I was looking for. I preferred the movie. 5y
16 likes1 stack add1 comment
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RavenNight
The Shape of Water | Guillermo del del Toro
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This book is so pretty😍

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IamIamIam
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

This was a bit Creature From the Black Lagoon as well as a social commentary on all kinds of relationships. I got the symbolism and I could be a little more liberal in understanding this in a visual medium after getting in the characters' heads. I enjoyed the story and the outcome as well. The reveal on Elisa at the end was great. 🤘

ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled *horrible Litten confession* I‘ve only seen the film, and it was incredible, so now I want to read the book because Im sure there‘s so much more. ❤️ 5y
IamIamIam @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled LOL, I think this was a novelization of the script so you can still consider yourself a Litten of good standing!!! 5y
39 likes2 comments
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IamIamIam
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Ugh, Strickland is such a moron....

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NikkiRae
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

I‘m not a book snob so if the book is close enough to the movie, I‘ll suggest you just watch the movie. However, I loved this book and I think just being able to hear Deus Bronquia‘s thoughts is worth it. I only wish they had more of it rather than just a few chapters. Loved the book. Loved the movie.

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IamIamIam
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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All I've ever heard about this movie is that it's really weird, and that was from my dad who even justified moderate symbolism in Eraserhead!!!

rretzler Loved Eraserhead. Haven‘t seen a David Lynch movie in ages - off to see if I can find one to watch. 😝 6y
IamIamIam @rretzler 🤣🤣 All I got out of that movie was being 2 hours older than when I started!!! Lol 6y
rretzler 🤣🤣 6y
31 likes4 comments
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sprainedbrain
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

I am a fan of Daniel Kraus (Zebulon Finch owns a significant piece of my heart), and that‘s the main reason I wanted to read the book before seeing the film. While this is clearly a joint effort, I really enjoyed it, and many bits of Kraus shine through.

At first I was a little annoyed by the multiple POVs, but they really came together and illustrated serious character development. Love the story so much. ❤️

Now... the movie!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Texreader I really liked the movie 6y
125 likes6 stack adds1 comment
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sprainedbrain
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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I‘m not ashamed to say I have always been, and remain to this day, a terrible parallel parker and an even more terrible backer-upper. 😂

Lreads 😂🚙 6y
Shvonne I can‘t parallel park or back into parking spaces. 6y
Ericalambbrown Me, too! You are not alone! 6y
See All 10 Comments
CarolynM Power steering makes it possible for me, I really couldn't do it before that. 6y
janeycanuck I got a car with a back-up camera. Still can‘t parallel park but now I look like a superstar backing into spaces! 6y
sprainedbrain @janeycanuck I have a back up camera. Still can‘t back into spaces with any confidence. 😂 6y
HOTPock3tt Same here I‘m awful at both 🤣 6y
Curiouser_and_curiouser Lol, glad I'm not the only one! I'll go a mile put of my way to avoid the public debasement of parallel parking! Especially since, on the rare occasions I've attempted, I have people coming off the street to direct me! Oh the shame....and public debasement..... Lol!! 5y
sprainedbrain @Curiouser_and_curiouser public debasement is the PERFECT terminology. 😂 5y
Curiouser_and_curiouser @sprainedbrain LOL!! Can't stop giggling, it'll be the word of choice for me for the next week I'm sure!! 5y
88 likes1 stack add10 comments
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Strawheart_Mila
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus

Just got this lovely gem and a bunch of others for my birthday! I‘m starting 2019 damn well!! 😎

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Gennic
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
Pickpick

I absolutely adored this book! So well written and so unique

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gradcat
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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#QuotsyJan19

(Day 8 - Creature)

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LiterRohde
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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“So when does an anomaly quit being an anomaly and start being just the way things happen to be? What if you and I are not the last of our kinds, but one of the first? The first of better creatures in a better world? We can hope, can‘t we? That we‘re not of the past, but the future?”

#QuotsyJan19 | 8: #Creature

📷: Made with Typorama

Librarianaut I loved that book 6y
tpixie Great quote! 6y
69 likes1 stack add2 comments
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celyndawg
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

Such a beautiful story. Beautiful beautiful beautiful!

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celyndawg
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus

Currently reading The Shape of Water. I‘ve adjusted a few reading settings on Libby to try to make ebooks a little more enjoyable. I just want the feel of a book in my hands sometimes! But ebooks are so easy to access and convenient 😩

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Myhusbandhatesreading
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
Pickpick

Good book but predictable ending.

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Myhusbandhatesreading
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Up next...

Texreader Good movie!! 6y
53 likes1 comment
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Doughtah
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
Pickpick

This was such a sensuous and fantastic book. As someone who enjoyed the movie, I was a bit biased going in. I think, though, that even if you haven't seen the movie, you'd still enjoy the book. It's a fairytale with long descriptions (this is one of the few critiques I have of it, the descriptions were very long and I feel like that could def turn some folks off) and if you like that sort of story, I can't recommend The Shape of Water enough.

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magicalshelves
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

Just finished this audiobook on the way to work and it was such a wonderful story. The writing is beautiful and addictive and the narration was very good. I need to get my hands on the movie now so I can see what the story is like in cinematic form.

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Doughtah
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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The wonderful thing about ‘The Shape of Water‘ is that it provides even more insight into the characters. While the movie leaves plenty to interpretation and in the unspoken things said between the characters, the book is chockful of these little internal revelations that give the characters their shine. All this to say I‘m love the book. ♥️

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KimM
Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Bailedbailed

Ive listened to about half of this one and I just can‘t bear to go on.

WhatThePuck My friend bought the audio and book combo. She said she just couldn't do the audio and just had to read it. She didn't give it raving reviews, but it would have been a pan if she didn't stop listening to it. 6y
TheNextBook I saw the movie... I dont think I could read the book lol 6y
22 likes2 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Elisa works nights at a government research facility. One night she breaks protocol and starts connecting with the facility‘s newest “acquisition.” And the rest is #meetmeinthedark history.

#octoberxfiles @Cinfhen @Robothugs

IamIamIam My husband & I were talking about movies with my dad the other day and he brought this up. He was funny...lol, he said, "Have you seen this? I mean, I've watched a lot of strange movies in my time but this one? I don't know, it was just so weird." LOL, of course, with that review I decided I need to see it immediately!!! Is the book an adaptation of the screenplay? 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @IamIamIam The movie is fantastic! The book is meant to be more than just an adaptation. I gave it a try and decided it wasn‘t the right time for me. But I might try again some time. 6y
IamIamIam @BarbaraTheBibliophage Lol, I totally understand what you mean. Sometimes books need to ripen on the bookshelf like peaches! 😃 6y
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BarbaraTheBibliophage @IamIamIam Exactly so! 🍑 6y
Cinfhen I thought this was a really odd movie but the hubs loved it! 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen Yeah, it was totally odd and that‘s why I loved it! 6y
108 likes1 stack add6 comments
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SkeletonKey
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

This was a pretty faithful retelling of the movie. Since I knew the plot, I ended up skimming the bits I was less interested in and focusing on the ones I wanted more backstory. It‘s beautifully written and definitely worth a read if you enjoy misunderstood monsters.

BeansPage 💖💖💖 the artwork 6y
alanacristin I'm enjoying all the extra bits 😍 6y
38 likes1 stack add3 comments
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SkeletonKey
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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I loved this movie so much, thought it was time to check out the book.

CoffeeCatsBooks Great cover! 6y
SkeletonKey @CoffeeCatsBooks - There are some really beautiful illustrations inside as well 6y
48 likes2 comments
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comics_librarian
Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Mehso-so

It's a noble effort by Daniel Kraus to turns this dark fantasy romance into a literary work, but the reader may find that what goes unsaid in the film actually enhances the story and that any effort to fill in gaps does it no justice.

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mariaku21
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

I'm still very much in love with the prose and imagery of this book. I'm going to fangirl about it in my review later I can tell.

Briget66 I‘m loving the book too!!! 6y
mariaku21 @Briget66 😍😍 6y
34 likes2 comments
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rachelspelledwrong
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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I am in love with this book

Briget66 I think I am too ! 🥰 6y
2 likes1 comment
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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1. The Shape of Water💧 💦
2. We love to go to the movies on date night. But we‘re also empty nesters, so every night is date night!
3. 17
4. As much as I loved the movie, the book just wasn‘t my thing. So again, The Shape of Water.
5. Yes—I love seeing everyone‘s answers!
@jesshowbooks #FriYayIntro

Cathythoughts I loved the Shape of Water - - ( movie) Wouldn‘t Sally Hawkins make a great Eleanor Oliphant (edited) 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cathythoughts I haven‘t read Eleanor, so I‘ll trust you on that! 😎 6y
97 likes2 comments
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sophierayton
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

This is an unusual book. I think it's essentially a look at what it is to be different but deserving of love and respect anyway. It gets a bit wierd at times but there's so much symbolic meaning throughout you just roll with it.

Linear I kinda wanted to see the movie... 6y
10 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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DarcysMom
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

🌟🌟🌟
This fell between a pick and so-so for me. The high quality of the good parts made it a pick.
#overdrive

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GioiaZombia
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus

What would feeling like somebody feel like? To suddenly exist not only in your world, but someone else's as well?

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DarcysMom
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Quiet morning.

70 likes1 stack add
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khooliha
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
Pickpick

Is it weird to love a movie novelization? What if it has your evil fictional great uncle, or Creature POV chapters, or a late stage appearance of "a single mysterious pig"? What about then?

khooliha This -is- the sort of book that builds in a ton of sympathy for the antagonist, so if you don't want to hang out with/feel bad for Michael Shannon on the page then this isn't the novelization for you. 6y
5 likes1 comment
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ailynk
Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

The words flow like poetry, the story is a mystery but I just can't connect. Doesn't mean it's bad at all. The multiple characters with deep dark secrets, each unravels into a great climax at the end

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Eyelit
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Pickpick

This book is very different from the movie, and I think that‘s a good thing. I don‘t think a book could capture the lyrical fairy tale quality that beautiful film has.
That said, the necessary elements are the same... but all the human characters are fleshed out and this story takes place firmly in a real (and changing) world.
Yes, the movie is better, but the book is a good companion piece, imho. (Also, lovely illustrations by James Jean)

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Eyelit
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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“For two billion years, the world knew peace. Only with the invention of gender - specifically males, those tail-tanners, horn-lockers, chest-pounders - did Earth begin its slide toward self-extinction.”

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Eyelit
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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So far the book is different from the movie in ways I didn‘t expect (far more Strickland than I like) - but I do like passages like this which highlight the nuances that don‘t always come through with visual storytelling.

69 likes2 stack adds
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DarcysMom
The Shape of Water | Guillermo Del Toro, Daniel Kraus
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Another hold came in! 😁

mariaku21 So did mine! I need to finish some others first but I can't wait 6y
DarcysMom @mariaku21 I am about 80 pages in. It is not what I expected, but I am enjoying it. 6y
mariaku21 @DarcysMom I enjoyed the movie so I just had to read the book but it was a 6 month wait sI I was't the only one waiting 6y
DarcysMom @mariaku21 I never saw the movie, so I will be interested to see how you think they compare. 6y
59 likes4 comments