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There is, of course, a new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie just out, but I’ve actually been meaning to read this book for years. I absolutely adored the 1971 movie based on the same book, and it was fun to see all the same characters and scenes.
I think, however, that this is one of those cases where the movie (the 1971 one, anyway; I haven’t seen the new one) is better than the source material. The book lacks several key devices that I thought gave the Charlie Bucket character a lot more depth. In the book, for example, Charlie is not tempted to steal Wonka’s secrets by a spy from other chocolate factory. Thus he’s never faced with the ethical dilemmas around feeding his starving family by stealing the Everlasting Gobstopper and selling it to the competition, the result of which earns him ownership of the factory. In fact, the book’s Charlie earns Wonka’s largess just by being the last man standing in a game of “Just Stand There and Don’t Do Anything Mind-Blowingly Stupid.”
Still, good book, and I think I’ll pick up the sequel.
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