Episode · The Book Review · 2026-02-24
Books mentioned on Director Clint Bentley on Adapting ‘Train Dreams’ for the Big Screen
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Train dreams
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson is a slender, poignant novella following the solitary life of Robert Grainier, a laborer in the American West during the early twentieth century.
Discussed“So bear with me. This is the ending of Denis Johnson's Train Dreams.”
Where to get it
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Tree of Smoke
Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson is a massive, sprawling novel set during the Vietnam War that won the National Book Award for its unflinching portrayal of the conflict.
Discussed“Tree of Smoke, which is this large sprawling 700-page book set during the Vietnam War, and then all the way on the other end of the spectrum, you have Train Dreams, which is this short but extremely powerful book about this man's life, Robert Grainier.”
Where to get it
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No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy is a gripping suspense novel that tracks the violent aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong in West Texas alongside the pursuit of a ruthless killer.
Discussed“There or there are exceptions to that like No Country for Old Men is an adaptation that like that book kind of already feels like a movie and was written as a screenplay or stage play before that.”
Where to get it
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The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid by Michael Ondaatje is an unconventional and multi-genre book blending prose, photography, and poetry.
Recommended“It's called The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. It's by Michael Ondaatje. Mhm. It's it's so much more than what it sounds like. It's this very strange book that is a collection of short stories, photographs, poetry.”
Where to get it
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To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf's modernist masterpiece To the Lighthouse explores the complex dynamics of the Ramsay family during two visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland before and after the First World War.
Discussed“One that I've got here that I just picked up that I sadly have never read to the lighthouse. Oh, wow. I've I've read like uh you know, I've read Virginia Woolf's prose, but I've never read a full book by her and so and so I just picked up have a copy there?”
Where to get it
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Once in Europa
Once in Europa by John Berger is a short story cycle exploring themes of life moving forward and leaving people behind.
Recommended“The second one is the one that I started with and that I read called Once in Europa. But it's a collection of it's like a short story cycle and I think it for fans of Train Dreams might be fans of that as well because there's very similar themes about life kind of moving on and leaving people behind”
Where to get it
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Sculpting in Time
Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky is a profound reflection on the art and form of filmmaking written toward the end of the director's life.
Recommended“Tarkovsky has one. Andrei Tarkovsky has one called Sculpting in Time that is a really phenomenal book. And he he was at the end of his life towards the end of his life when he wrote it and it's very much like not only him reflecting on his life, but him reflecting on the form.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“On our last episode, I had the chance to speak with Guillermo del Toro about his adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and today we have another Oscar nominee on the show, Clint Bentley.”