Babe

I’m sitting on my back porch with a glass of red wine and a candle just after watching a beautiful sunset. So know that whatever comes next may be colored by the loveliness of this moment.

 Babe was our first book club read. Torey and I read it in an afternoon over the Christmas holidays while sitting at opposite ends of the couch snuggled under blankets with Craig reading one of his new books across the room. Couldn’t ask for a more perfect beginning. 

And the book itself is absolutely charming. I have to say, I loved the movie long before I realized it was based on a book. And what’s not to love—a big-hearted pig that wins over all who meet him, a mama dog who takes him under her wing, a kind and eccentric farmer, his chatty but lovable wife. It’s a sweet story. I liked Mrs. Hoggett much more in the book than in the movie. It would make a great read aloud for little ones. 

That said, I have to be honest that I found myself missing some of the bits that the movie added. I’m talking about the singing mice; Ferdinand the duck; and the obnoxious extended family with their fax machine. And I could. not. believe. there was no sheep password. Are you kidding me? You can’t be unhappy saying “Baa Ram Ewe.” So, while the books is absolutely worth the read (especially aloud to little ones), this is one of those rare examples in which the movie is even better than the book. The other example, of course, is Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. 

All in all, an excellent beginning. 

(Written Christmas 2015)