Forrest Gump is a good read, but this is one of those rare instances when the movie is actually better than the book.
High Point: You never know what’s coming next.
Low Point: The book doesn’t have the sweetness or depth of the movie.
Author: Winston Groom
Publication Date: 1986
Genre: Fiction
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: Forrest Gump (1994)
“Life’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
That familiar quote is from the movie—not from Winston Groom’s bestselling novel Forrest Gump. But it certainly fits the book. There are things you won’t see coming.
The title character is a cross between Huckleberry Finn and Walter Mitty. With his friend—an orangutan named Sue—his adventures take him to space to the jungles of Borneo to the wrestling arenas in Indiana to chess tournaments in California and to many other places. Forrest may not be blessed with social graces, but he can do so many things so well.
The story is presented in the first person from Forrest’s perspective. It’s written the way Forrest talks, and it may take a chapter or two to get into the flow. But once it clicks, it works.
Forrest Gump is a good read, but this is one of those rare instances when the movie is actually better than the book. The movie had a sweetness and a depth that the book just doesn’t have.
So when you read this book, forget about the movie. Instead, think Huckleberry Finn and Walter Mitty.
