Amazon #22: Jumanji (novelisation)

4 stars - link

Jumanji has seen many changes in it's existence - firstly it was a disappointingly childish story by Chris Van Allsburg, then developed into an improved but still sketchy motion picture; and then this astounding novelisation was unleashed onto an unsuspecting public - Jumanji aficionados (of which there are some) rightly regard this as the definitive rendering of the story.

Although this book was published in 1995, it's impossible to read Strasser's magnum opus without thinking it's anything other than a prophetic allegory of the 2008 US election race. In these uncertain times, where a promising young idealist is handed the reigns of the world's largest superpower, tales of jungle board games gone crazy seem strangely apt - with an unsuspecting world looking to a mysterious unknown (Barrack Obama / Robin Williams) to defeat an evil minded madman (John McCain / Van Pelt (not to be confused with Chris Leo's slowcore indie rock band)), looking to steer a vulnerable society past hidden and unforeseeable dangers (the doomed economy / a bunch of crazy animals) - not to mention the looming spectre of terrorism.

Like most of Todd Strasser's work (with the exception of his remarkable novelisation of Karate Kid 3), this novelisation doesn't stray too far away from the source material - but when you have Strasser's way with words, grasp of grammar and abundance of alliteration, a lack of any variations of the theme doesn't detract from his effectiveness as a writer. His skills with juxtaposition, metaphor and pace are a joy to behold, and some of the descriptive passages are unparalleled in modern literature in my view - at some points, I actually felt that Robin Williams was in the room with me.

For this reason, it gets 4 stars instead of 5.