UNDERAPPRECIATED

by John M. Floyd

Everyone likes the blockbuster novels, the ones that attract millions of readers. We usually even know beforehand that we’ll like them, either because we’re familiar with the authors or because we’ve seen the reviews or heard the buzz. You know the ones I’m talking about: Jaws, The Godfather, The Prince of Tides, Lonesome Dove, Mystic River, The Green Mile, Shane, Deliverance, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Silence of the Lambs, etc. Oddly enough, the outstanding novels I’ve mentioned here became outstanding movies as well. (That doesn’t often happen.)

The funny thing is, some of my favorite pieces of fiction have not been the ones that were widely praised or even widely recognized — at least not at first. In a way, these are more fun to discover: they’re like well-kept secrets. Some of these novels and films then go on to achieve great success (we call them “sleepers”), but others never seem to find much of a following at all.

Without further ado, here are sixteen lesser-known (or at least lesser-discussed) books and movies that I thought were excellent:

Novels:

Rose — Martin Cruz Smith. A mystery set in the English coal country, with a twist ending I still remember, years afterward.

Sands of the Kalahari — William Mulvihill. Murder and betrayal in the African desert.

True Crime — Andrew Klavan. A great mystery story, with a ticking clock throughout.

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud — Max Erlich. An entertaining novel, later adapted into a disappointing movie.

Magic — William Goldman. Don’t read this one if you’re spooked by puppets or mannequins.

Mind Prey — John Sandford. In my opinion, the strongest of the Lucas Davenport novels.

Banner in the Sky — James Ramsey Ullman. A tale of a boy’s courage, set in the Swiss Alps.
Adapted into the Disney movie Third Man on the Mountain.

Demolition Angel — Robert Crais. Edge-of-your-seat action and suspense.

Movies:

Blood Simple (1984) — The first and one of the best of the Coen Brothers’ films.

From Noon Till Three (1976) — A lighthearted western, with great music.

Medicine Man (1992) — Sean Connery as a researcher in the Amazon rainforest? It actually works.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) — A surprisingly good love story.

Rustler’s Rhapsody (1985) — A funny, funny movie. I dare you to watch it without laughing out loud.

The Spanish Prisoner (1997) — A well-done mystery, with multiple plot reversals.

The Abyss (1989) — Adventure and aliens and newfound love, all underwater. Fantastic writing.

Silver Bullet (1985) — An exciting horror film, from Stephen King’s novella Cycle of the Werewolf.

Have any of you read or seen these and enjoyed them as much as I did? If you haven’t, I hope you’ll put one on your bedside table (or in your Netflix queue, as the case may be), and then let me know what you think. All of them are way better than I thought they’d be, and some are better than the blockbusters.

Like short stories, good novels and movies will eventually find an audience.

And since I’m a member of that audience . . .

Here are the last (okay, hold down the applause) of the answers to the movie-dialogue quiz from a few weeks ago. Hope you did better on it than I would’ve done if YOU’d been quizzing ME.

41. What in the hell you doing with that lawn mower blade? / I aim to kill you with it.
SLING BLADE (Dwight Yoakam / Billy Bob Thornton)

42. I don’t understand. All my life I’ve been waiting for someone, and when I find her . . . she’s a fish.
SPLASH (Tom Hanks)

43. I can’t drive you around while you’re killing folks. It ain’t my job. / Tonight it is.
COLLATERAL (cab driver Jamie Foxx / Tom Cruise)

44. You know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up. / He’s right. No bucks, no Buck Rogers.
THE RIGHT STUFF (Dennis Quaid / Fred Ward)

45. If you build what, who will come? / He didn’t say.
FIELD OF DREAMS (Amy Madigan / Kevin Costner)

46. Swee’Pea is the worst name I’ve ever heard on a baby. / Well, what do you wants me to call him? Baby Oyl?
POPEYE (Shelley Duvall / Robin Williams)

47. They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way, and that’s how you get Capone.
THE UNTOUCHABLES (Sean Connery, to Kevin Costner)

48. We killed a man, Drew. Shot him in the back. A mountain man. A cracker.
DELIVERANCE (Burt Reynolds to Ronny Cox, after rescuing their friends)

49. I’m sorry we won’t be able to invite you to the wedding, Benjamin, but the arrangements have been so rushed.
THE GRADUATE (Anne Bancroft, to Dustin Hoffman)

50. Good luck with your layoffs, all right? I hope your firings go really well.
OFFICE SPACE (Ron Livingston, as he leaves a meeting with the two Bobs)