From Page to Screen: Top 10 Netflix Adaptations of Obscure Books

Here are some of the lesser-known and yet intriguing Netflix adaptations that flew under the radar but deserve a spot on your binge-list.

1. The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021)

Based on the novel of the same name by Jojo Moyes.

In the 1960s, we meet Jennifer Stirling, the wife of a wealthy industrialist, who wakes up with amnesia after a car accident. Stumbling upon romantic letters from a man named 'B,' she's drawn into a torrid affair that's as mysterious to her as her own past. Fast forward to 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth uncovers these love letters and becomes obsessed with discovering the lovers' fates. Her own love life, a jigsaw puzzle of missed connections, becomes intertwined with the mystery she's unraveling. Will she piece together the truth before the last page? Spoiler: She just might.

2. The Midnight Sky (2020)

Adapted from the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton.

Imagine a grizzly scientist, Augustine, in a post-apocalyptic Arctic, racing to stop a group of astronauts from returning to an Earth devastated by a mysterious global catastrophe. Augustine, ravaged by illness and loneliness, discovers a young stowaway, Iris, in his Arctic station. Together, they forge a bond while attempting to contact the spaceship "Aether" to warn them of Earth's plight. The crew aboard "Aether", dreaming of home and oblivious to the silent world below, faces their own trials.

3. Alias Grace (2017)

Based on the true crime novel by Margaret Atwood.

The story orbits around Grace Marks, a young, enigmatic servant who finds herself convicted of the notorious 1843 murders of her employer and his housekeeper, a role complicated by her claims of amnesia. A budding psychiatrist, Dr. Simon Jordan, is engaged to delve into the depths of Grace's memory and psyche, hoping to uncover the truth. The plot thickens as Grace recounts her life story in a series of flashbacks, and what unfolds is a tapestry of events that might or might not lead to the truth.

4. Bird Box (2018)

Based on the novel of the same name by Josh Malerman.

Close your eyes, or you'll meet your worst fear – literally. This is the reality for Malorie and her two children, all blindfolded as they navigate a river and a forest to find sanctuary from an unseen force. If glimpsed, it drives people to suicide. Flashbacks reveal how this horror came to be, with people seeking refuge together, bonds forming and fraying under the strain of survival. Bird Box flutters between the quiet intensity of the blind journey and the chaotic flashbacks of the world falling apart.

5. Dumplin' (2018)

Based on the young adult novel Dumplin' by Julie Murphy.

Willowdean, 'Dumplin,' is the plus-sized teenage daughter of a former beauty queen, who decides to enter her mom's pageant as a protest. It sparks a small revolution in her Texas town as other unconventional contestants throw their hats in the ring, challenging the traditional beauty norms. It's not just gowns and crowns; it's a story about mother-daughter relationships, self-acceptance, and finding confidence in the spotlight with Dolly Parton anthems as a backdrop.

6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

It's 1946, and Juliet Ashton, a London-based writer, is looking for her next book subject. She finds it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb. The correspondence leads her to discover the peculiarly named book club that was formed during the German occupation of World War II. As Juliet meets the club's members, she is drawn into the patchwork of stories that make up their war-time experiences.

7. I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

Based on the novel of the same name by Iain Reid.

Nothing is as it seems in this mind-bending trek into the psyche. The story follows a young woman who, despite having second thoughts about their relationship, takes a road trip with her boyfriend Jake to meet his parents on their secluded farm. Upon arrival, things go from weird to 'what the heck' as they're swept into a whirlwind of surreal experiences. Time seems fluid, the parents age and regress before our eyes, and the girlfriend (whose name changes throughout the film) slips through various personas.

8. Our Souls at Night (2017)

Based on the novel of the same name by Kent Haruf.

In the autumn years of their lives, widowed neighbors Addie Moore and Louis Waters seek solace in each other's company. They start sharing a bed platonically, just for the conversation and the company, to combat the loneliness that nighttime often brings. But as their relationship deepens, they face not just the town's whispers but the protestations of their own families. It's a story about finding love and companionship at an age when most love stories are said to have already been told.

9. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)

Adapted from the memoir of the same name by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer.

Based on a true story, this film is set in Malawi and follows a thirteen-year-old boy named William Kamkwamba. When his village is hit by a severe famine, William takes it upon himself to save his family and community. A lover of electronics, he is forced to drop out of school due to his family's financial struggles, but he sneaks into the library and learns about wind turbines. William, against all odds and adult skepticism, sets out to build a windmill to power a water pump for irrigation.

10. Hold the Dark (2018)

Based on the novel of the same name by William Giraldi.

In the remote Alaskan wilderness, wolves are taking children. A grieving mother, Medora Slone, calls upon retired naturalist and wolf expert Russell Core to track down the wolves that she believes took her son. As Russell uncovers more about the missing boy, he is pulled into a harrowing mystery involving Medora, her soldier husband, Vernon, and the stark and violent truths of their isolated village.