Miss Peregrine Home For Peculiar Children
Very rarely does a film live up to its book counterpart, but in the case of Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, it most certainly does (well almost). There were a few changes made for the big-screen, none that I believed altered the storyline too much though, but are most certainly worth discussing nonetheless. I will take a look at both versions and analyse the differences between them both and if they are worth your time.
Miss Peregrine Home For Peculiar Children: Book Review
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children Plot:
Before I get into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at the premise of Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. It is a contemporary fantasy debut novel by American author Ransom Riggs and tells the story of a horrific family tragedy that sends sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales. Here, he discovers the crumbling ruins of an old orphanage that was home to children who were more than just peculiar, but possibly dangerous, and who may still be alive.
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children Narrative format:
It is told through a combination of compelling narrative and vernacular, as well as a mix of found photography from the personal archives of collectors listed by the author. The photographs are somewhat haunting in their appearance which I believe is the effect Riggs was going for, the element of the bizarre and peculiar.
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children What was good:
Let’s start from the beginning. The book opens with a quote from Ralph Waldo-Emerson, a prolific American poet among other things. The following quote is genius in the way it immediately sets the tone for the rest of the book.
‘Sleep is not, death is not; who seem to die live. House you were born in, friends of your spring-time, old man and young maid, day’s toil and its guerdon, they are all vanishing, fleeing to fables, cannot be moored.’
Throughout the book, Riggs explores dark themes such as violence, alcoholism and tragedy. Definitely not something young children should be exposed to but perhaps young adults. This theme of darkness extends into the tone of the book which is both disconcerting yet fascinating as we all exposed to all sorts of wild imagery.
A former film student, it makes complete sense that Riggs gives the reader these explicit details of places, people, and monsters. While this works well in creating a true visual experience for the reader, it can become convoluted and overly wordy at times. Perhaps this is what makes the photography dotted throughout the book so effective. While they are sometimes difficult to look at due to their overtly bizarre nature, they do provide a quick pause for the reader which is definitely necessary if you have a short attention span like myself.
It truly is an adventure for the reader from start to finish. Riggs so expertly blends reality and fantasy so the latter doesn’t seem completely ridiculous and you find yourself constantly being whisked between the two. The emotive language used to describe the places and people is a true wonder to behold and I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like it. Here is a short excerpt that I believe best captures what I’m trying to say:
What stood before me now was no refuge from monsters but a monster itself, staring down from the perch on the hill with vacant hunger. Trees burst forth from broken windows and skins of scabrous vine gnawed at the walls like antibodies attacking a virus – as if nature itself had waged a war against it – but the house seemed unkillable, resolutely upright despite the wrongness of its angles and the jagged teeth of sky visible through sections of collapsed roof (Riggs 2013, p. 74).
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children What was not so good:
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the book which many people felt could’ve been neglected from the storyline, is the romantic relationship between Jacob and a peculiar child. As people have noted, there is a definite notion of incest that could have definitely been excluded from the plot without harming the other favourable elements of the book. However, I don’t think this distracts too much from the overall excellence of it.
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children Conclusion:
While this is most certainly not a book for the faint of heart, it’s utter brilliance and unique way of storytelling cannot be denied. If it’s an adventure you’re after then this book is second-to-none, just make sure you remember to focus on all the tiny details throughout. I would most definitely recommend this book but heed a warning to those who may be uncomfortable with the photographs and dark themes throughout.
Miss Peregrine Home For Peculiar Children: Film Review
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children What was good:
As for Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children cast, Eva Green is as electrifying as ever as Miss Peregrine, giving a performance that is both enchanting and disconcerting. Asa Butterfield who you may know from Ender’s Game is brilliant at portraying Jacob Portman and his quirky, earnest and confused personality, and the two together carry the film. I must give a mention to Samuel L Jackson who makes the perfect villain. He manages to embody all those classic villain tropes that we love without being completely unoriginal.
Directed by the visionary mind of Tim Burton, you already know you’re in for a treat before the film has already begun. It takes someone as brilliant as Burton to bring the weird and wonderful elements from the book onto the screen, and he does so very successfully.
It starts out pretty unsure but the film soon finds its footing with incredible visual storytelling and just enough creep factor to keep you entertained without you having to hide behind a cushion. I would say to be careful showing it to young children as many parents did complain that the film was “too scary for kids“.
It’s great at portraying important themes such as the importance of courage, curiosity, and integrity, while also maintaining strong thematical ties to the book with the undeniably sad undertones throughout.
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children What was not so good:
The only bad thing I have to say about the film stems from the discernable differences between it and the book, most notably with the characters and their peculiarities. They switched around the peculiarity of the main female lead with that of a background character for the sake of entertainment. This was a creative liberty that I felt didn’t need to be taken and added relatively nothing to the film. Other than this and a few minor plot differences, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Miss Peregrine Home for Peculiar Children Conclusion:
While many fans of the book criticised the film for changing certain elements such as the peculiarities of the children, I absolutely loved it as a standalone film. It was entertaining from start to finish and was everything a young adult film should be. It’s messages about the importance of kindness, bravery, and staying true to yourself were all explored brilliantly and in a way that was far from heavy-handed. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a bit of a scare and lose themselves in the brilliant amalgamation of Ransom Riggs’ and Tim Burton’s minds. Is Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children on netflix? Sadly not in the UK as of March 2021 but you can watch it on amazon prime.
