The Hating Game, by Sally Thorne: the book vs. the movie

I have a theory. Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them.

Here's a case of "jump on the book, do anything to avoid seeing the movie". The book made me feel like an excited teenager, and I swear it came very close to making it into my favorites. But in my excitement, I made the mistake of listening to the movie right after, and my balloon deflated miserably.

I will however make an effort in memory for you, dear readers, and explain to you what makes The Hating Game (the book, not the movie) a must-see for anyone who enjoys romance at all.

Summary

Lucy and Josh live in a strange work environment where everyone seems to have their own office, except for them, who have to share one. And face to face at that. And it's inconvenient, because they hate each other.

Day after day, they find more and more creative ways to annoy the other. One day, they imitate each other's every little move. The other day, they stare into each other's eyes while waiting for the other to look away. A kind of twisted game where the one who shows the most hate wins.

Then, one day, Josh does something completely unexpected: he kisses Lucy fiercely in the elevator. The best kiss of Lucy's life. A kiss that makes you dizzy and obsessed. But what is Josh playing at? Is this another tactic to throw Lucy off balance, or has hatred finally turned to love?

Impressions

The spell was on immediately. The pace of the book is steady, it's funny for real (I think I had a smile plastered to my face the whole time), and my god the erotic scenes are well done. There isn't a single length, and I was totally hooked, to the point where only my forced pee breaks reminded me that I needed to consider going to bed eventually. Reminders that I ignored with a sweet mixture of pleasure and guilt.

I have to admit that the premise is not very convincing: personally, I never bought the hatred between the two. Who stare into each other's eyes to show that they hate each other? Honestly. But hey, ludic contract.

I learned earlier that this is Sally Thorne's first book. First time writing a novel. Really, hats off to her. It screams professionalism.

And now for the movie I shouldn't have watched...

The problem with the movie is pretty simple: it's a flop (in my humble opinion). The movie turned the cute, funny, and adorable Lucy from the book into some kind of obnoxious fury, and turned the cold, cynical Josh from the book into a handsome, slightly stupid guy. The book's little flaw of not explaining the transition from hate to love very well has become a gaping crack where the only thing we perceive is an angry kiss that doesn't look very nice in an elevator. Initiated by Lucy, no less, which makes the dynamic between the two even more incomprehensible. And the cute and satisfying ending in the book becomes a nauseating quaintness in the movie.

Moral of the story: if you liked a book, take the time to savor it before rushing to the movie.