The story is largely dialogue driven with vivid descriptions of the pods themselves and those small differences in their chosen victims, the dimming behind the eyes of the converted. Followers of the movies (yours truly) will be pleased to see that the movies did draw heavily from the book, but not completely. There are still many unexpected twists and turns to the story including an ending that diverges completely from both the original 1950s movie and the later 1978 remake with Donald Sutherland (my personal favorite rendition). The main characters are still the same, the love interest suitably in danger, the eerie sense of guessing who is real and who is alien still very much palpable (similar to John Carpentor’s The Thing and the equally unnerving novel adaptation by Alan Dean Foster.) Without giving away any spoilers, it’s hard to truly compare the movies and the book since, in some ways, they are separate entities. As revealed in the audio recording by Blackstone Audio which features Kristoffer Tabori reading, the original 1950s movie was deliberately subverted against Director Don Siegel’s will to make it less disturbing. The re-make of the 70s, conversely, built on the sense of a hopeless, creeping desperation and amplified the exhaustion as the characters fought not to fall asleep and succumb to the pods, which of course claim victims when they are most defenseless: during rest.

The novel focuses less on the aspect of sleep (not to say that it still isn’t a major component) and more on the speculation and sheer panic of the characters. Overall, it’s mostly seamless, despite one nonsensical scene where everyone flees town, terrified by continual encounters with popping, morphing pods, only to come back to a dangerous place the very next day (a wise choice for removal in both films). Otherwise, the novel is certainly more character driven and brings us closer to the character of Miles and Becky, personalizing the feelings of paranoia and also amplifying a sense of the thriller as both Miles and Becky fight their former friends and family in an attempt to save their town and keep the contagion from spreading. More time is actually spent talking to the alien beings and readers get a fuller and better explanation of just who (or more accurately what) the pod people actually are and how they feel about taking over Earth. This scene (many recall from the movie) was accurately brought over, but the novel gives far more satisfaction and an interaction for which fans have been longing. Not to mention, we get to see more pod popping action and just hearing those sounds and being in the mind of Miles as it is all happening makes everything seem more desperate and closer.

The breathlessness of the short novel accurately captures the sense of speeding time, mirroring the conditions under which Miles and Becky find themselves. How can one make decisions so quickly? How can everything go so terribly so soon, and how can an alien invasion be accepted, much less comprehended, understood, and fought against in so little time? The writing leads to varying emotions as the characters jostle between disbelief, fear, exhaustion, and hope. The audio CD, read by Kristoffer Tabori. Siegal’s (who directed the original film) son, heightens this sense, capturing the expressiveness of Miles and the turmoil of each moment. Never gory, but always very visual, Tabori brings alive Jack Finney’s words and opens up a world where anything is possible and where, by the end, we believe along with Miles in these body snatchers and their fantastical, yet brilliant scheme to irradiate the human race, slowly, one hidden pod at a time.

What is perhaps so surprising about the novel is the ending which was is not depicted in either movie. The conclusion of the novel is very much upbeat which, depending on your prospective, is either better or worse. It’s certainly less terrifying, although it does give readers some long term information on the pod people. After being so close to Miles, its satisfying on a character basis since, through the duress of extreme emotion and countless sacrificial attempts to do the right thing, have invested readers in his (and of course Becky’s) happiness. However, that original gloomy sense of steeped hopeless paranoia is gone which is both a relief and also something to be missed, since it was the most haunting aspect of the movie adaptation of Finney’s work.

Either way, the different nature of the book, without being too far from the adaptations (which were accurate on several key scenes and events), pleases fans and would also entertain someone completely new to the Body Snatchers story (although, really, is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen and been charmed by at least one, if not both, of the movies?) Fans of the story will be addicted to the charged nature of Finney’s depiction and writing, and the different aspects of the original story take a familiar tale and put us in the place of Miles yet again, not knowing what to expect or when, letting us relive a favorite, creepy adventure.

–          Frances Carden

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