since i read it as a child, i've loved where the wild things are by maurice sendak. so when i heard that my favorite author, dave eggers, was adapting it into a novel AND co-writing the screenplay for a spike jonze film, i was ecstatic. i fell in love with and related to all three works completely differently because they each are so wonderfully their own.
each story is about max -- a young, imaginative, confused boy who travels to a far away land and becomes king of the wild things. being a kind-of-aspiring writer, i empathize with the amazing imagination that all three maxs have. beyond that, though, i empathize with being a wild thing.
the energy of a wild thing is what amazes me most. they seem to almost hum with emotion. i'm sure everyone has felt like that; i know i have -- when your entire body seems to be humming, every nerve ending completely aflame with energy that doesn't even seem to have a reason. max's wild thing comes from anger. sometimes mine comes from anger too. sometimes it comes from anxiousness, excitement, frustration, love, hate, from simply being overwhelmed.
"please don't go. i'll eat you up, i love you so." kw says this to max. i think this line, uttered tearfully as a goodbye, captures a level of desperation hiding in the wildness of the wild things. sometimes loving something (or someone) is overwhelming and all-consuming. it's both touching and a bit scary and it can eat you up if you're not careful.
so go out and howl at the moon. there's a wild thing in all of us.
each story is about max -- a young, imaginative, confused boy who travels to a far away land and becomes king of the wild things. being a kind-of-aspiring writer, i empathize with the amazing imagination that all three maxs have. beyond that, though, i empathize with being a wild thing.
the energy of a wild thing is what amazes me most. they seem to almost hum with emotion. i'm sure everyone has felt like that; i know i have -- when your entire body seems to be humming, every nerve ending completely aflame with energy that doesn't even seem to have a reason. max's wild thing comes from anger. sometimes mine comes from anger too. sometimes it comes from anxiousness, excitement, frustration, love, hate, from simply being overwhelmed.
"please don't go. i'll eat you up, i love you so." kw says this to max. i think this line, uttered tearfully as a goodbye, captures a level of desperation hiding in the wildness of the wild things. sometimes loving something (or someone) is overwhelming and all-consuming. it's both touching and a bit scary and it can eat you up if you're not careful.
so go out and howl at the moon. there's a wild thing in all of us.
I love you more than I can possibly say. Thank you for you.
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