Why I like it when they turn books into movies

This week, I finally got around to watching Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - I don't know what took me so long. Oh wait, yes I do: family/work/play/writing/travel... I loved the book when I read it four or five years ago, and I remember finishing it and thinking, this could SO be made into a movie. And then it was. I try not to compare movies with their book counterparts, as it's impossible to take a 300-page book and turn it into an hour-and-a-half screenplay without losing most of the original. I just like to see the characters on the screen - it sort of prolongs their lives for me. The movie was lovely. It was funny and satirical, just like the book, and Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor were on top form, with Kristin Scott Thomas as the British PM's press secretary stealing the show. Then of course, there was the ending. Within the first ten minutes of the movie, I knew that they were going to change the ending. The book's conclusion is a slap in the face; a rude awakening to what the author was trying to say all along, couched in satire and humour. But for once, I didn't mind. Perhaps it was because of the four-year gap between reading the novel and watching the movie; I was actually quite relieved when the film tied up all the loose ends and we got to live happily ever after. Of course, now I'm going to have to re-read the book - another reason why I like it when novels are turned into movies - you simply have to read it again.