A strange one to compare to the movie, because the book includes several addenda that just about completely change the overall takeaways. While the book is perhaps more meandering, and less engaging than the incredible production design and performances of the film, it also does something important that the film does not: it satisfactorily explains and balances out Bella's hypersexual nature. While the political and philosophical musings in the print version are still often somewhat asinine or overblown, they are so much more fleshed out than Yorgos Lanthimos' screenplay. Here we get not just a beginner's guide to socialism, but also comparative exercises that touch on a much broader spectrum of perspectives, and internal critiques of both theory and praxis of victorian leftist movements. And perhaps most importantly, the main story is immediately underwritten by Bella's repudiation of McCandles' account. I do like the film but the cleverness and maturity of the novel really highlights the ways that that interpretation fell a little bit short.