Good books have often translated to good or great films, but can you say the same of films into books? Novels based on films are, and I'm speaking generally here, not usually very good. Still, I wasn't expecting too much of the novel of The shape of water. The art and design on his films is always top notch and The shape of water is no exception - the blues and greens of the sea seep into what seems like the very fabric of the film, in other places they are jarringly absent - the visuals and sounds help tell the story. And as per del Toro's usual style the whole thing is soaked in the sensuous and the visceral. It's a cold war fairytale of loss, friendship, and the fear of those who are different. The shape of water is a fantasy film about a sentient water creature kept in a lab, and Oscar tends to prefer rather more gritty, 'worthy' fare for its top gong. A surprise because 'genre' films tend not to reap critical acclaim of this sort.

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The shape of water novel daniel kraus