3.5
This had its ups and downs, but I generally liked it! I haven’t watched the movie, but I was familiar with two of the iconic scenes and therefore kind of knew where it was going. I think what I liked the most was the otherwordly and surrealistic atmosphere it obtained in the later stages. Otherwise I’d say that the book was mostly interesting due to its age, as I don’t think it would’ve gotten the same sensational status if it was released now instead of in 1968.

The main drawback is that it felt pretty «hollow»; there were some reflections and interesting concepts touched upon, but in general it was written in a simplistic and flat way that made me think that it would be better suited for the movie screen. This made it a super quick read, but took away some of the substantiality. Knowing that the book and movie were made simultaneously, I started questioning whether there was actually any point in having the story as a book at all. Still, certain scenes convinced me that a book format was probably an interesting contrast to a movie which displays everything and leaves no room for imagination. I also read in some reviews that Clarke and Kubrick wrote different endings, which makes me extra curious to compare the two.

Time to go watch the movie!