Clue: A Novel by Michael McDowell
The movie Clue wasn’t a great hit when it came out. It wasn’t until much later that it became popular. This initial flop had unfortunate side effects on the other items that came out with the move – especially the books. The lackluster movie performance meant that the books were quickly discontinued and forgotten.
Two books that came out with the movie were Clue by Michael McDowell, and Clue: The Storybook. I got a copy of the storybook via inter-library loan a few years back. It’s a fairly short picture book, but does reveal a much-hinted at secret 4th ending that was never filmed. The Clue novelization by Michael McDowell, however, is much more of a standard length paperback.
While I have a lot of nostalgia for the movie, watching and quoting it endlessly, the McDowell book …. well…. leaves a lot to be desired. The writing isn’t very good honestly and it certainly doesn’t capture the fun of the movie. You won’t learn anything new and it pretty much follows the movie shot-for-shot. Still, for a fan, it’s worth a casual read.
I have a copy of the novelization, but prices have been getting stratospheric lately. Running as much as $200-$400. I have considered scanning my book for posterity, just like I did for Clue: The Storybook.
But until I get to that stage, you can actually listen to an amatur reading of the un-abridged version via the above youtube video. Read by Austin Curry (sp?), he does mispronounce words on occasion, but it’s more than good enough to give a listen.
