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A review by justinkhchen
Sliver by Ira Levin
3.0
3 stars
Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window with a 90s tech spin; while it brings to the table compelling exploration on voyeurism, television culture, and make-believe, It's also oddly shallow and under-cooked, resulting in a thriller that entertains, but comes up short of its full potential.
Briefly on the butchered 1993 film adaptation (which was what brought me reading the book in the first place): The film maintains the same cast of character and the basic framework (a high-rise apartment in New York City with a less than desirable track record), but tells a heavily altered, all together different whodunit plot line. Still, to give credit where credit is due, the casting of Sharon Stone and William Baldwin is spot-on, and the film does a great job bringing the environment to life (the high-rise looks impeccable); so maybe watch a trailer if you're interested in reading, just to gain some visual references.
The lack of correlation between the two versions kept the reading fresh; the novel dives in deeper into the concept of 'watching'—from something that is made to be consumed (television and publishing), to something that is considered unacceptable conduct (voyeurism). Ira Levin is not afraid to push some characters into morally gray territory, and conjures up interesting circumstance on privacy and innate curiosity. The novel is ultimately a study on media consumption, and even a little ahead of its time with some of the characters' 'binge' behavior.
As much as I'm fascinated by the subject matter it's exploring, Sliver under-delivers as a thriller; the plot, while never boring, takes too long to set up, and the thrill barely has time to land its punches, before the short book ends on an out-of-left-field climax/closure. While definitely more coherent compares to its cinema counterpart, I can see why the filmmaker decided to rewrite the story from the ground up; the book feels a little aimless, like it has yet figured out just what is the story it wants to tell. Which is rather ironic, because the heroine is literally a publishing editor specializes in thrillers and Gothics.
You can tell Sliver is written by a seasoned master, with its lean and razor-sharp writing, and clever juxtaposition of ideas and concepts. It's too bad it also feels abandoned, like Ira Levin simply lost interest after the first draft. To conclude my own journey with Sliver: yes, the book is better, but only marginally so.
Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window with a 90s tech spin; while it brings to the table compelling exploration on voyeurism, television culture, and make-believe, It's also oddly shallow and under-cooked, resulting in a thriller that entertains, but comes up short of its full potential.
Briefly on the butchered 1993 film adaptation (which was what brought me reading the book in the first place): The film maintains the same cast of character and the basic framework (a high-rise apartment in New York City with a less than desirable track record), but tells a heavily altered, all together different whodunit plot line. Still, to give credit where credit is due, the casting of Sharon Stone and William Baldwin is spot-on, and the film does a great job bringing the environment to life (the high-rise looks impeccable); so maybe watch a trailer if you're interested in reading, just to gain some visual references.
The lack of correlation between the two versions kept the reading fresh; the novel dives in deeper into the concept of 'watching'—from something that is made to be consumed (television and publishing), to something that is considered unacceptable conduct (voyeurism). Ira Levin is not afraid to push some characters into morally gray territory, and conjures up interesting circumstance on privacy and innate curiosity. The novel is ultimately a study on media consumption, and even a little ahead of its time with some of the characters' 'binge' behavior.
As much as I'm fascinated by the subject matter it's exploring, Sliver under-delivers as a thriller; the plot, while never boring, takes too long to set up, and the thrill barely has time to land its punches, before the short book ends on an out-of-left-field climax/closure. While definitely more coherent compares to its cinema counterpart, I can see why the filmmaker decided to rewrite the story from the ground up; the book feels a little aimless, like it has yet figured out just what is the story it wants to tell. Which is rather ironic, because the heroine is literally a publishing editor specializes in thrillers and Gothics.
You can tell Sliver is written by a seasoned master, with its lean and razor-sharp writing, and clever juxtaposition of ideas and concepts. It's too bad it also feels abandoned, like Ira Levin simply lost interest after the first draft. To conclude my own journey with Sliver: yes, the book is better, but only marginally so.