Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal’s His & Hers is now on Netflix, and people can’t get enough of the mystery, the romance, and, of course, the twists. Because the show is full of just that, twists. Enough that most people are wondering, is this an original story? Or was it based on a book?
The answer is pretty straightforward.
MORE: Here’s our review of His & Hers
His & Hers is based on a book by Alice Feeney
His & Hers is indeed based on a book by Alice Feeney. The show makes some changes to the framing of the book, adding a little more romance and eliminating the uncertainty the book thrived on. But it still keeps the same killer, Anna’s mother. The reason, however, changes.
In the book, Anna doesn’t discover her mother is the killer, and due to her alcoholism, she spends a fair bit of time thinking she might have done it and then blacked out. She also isn’t the one who’s assaulted and raped in the woods, Catherine is, and Anna blames herself for not intervening.
The changes make sense for the format, with the show doing a lot to take advantage of the chemistry between Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal, and leaving the story at a more definitive and still more or less bittersweet ending, yet one that makes you sympathize with the killer. In fact, the only issue in both the book and the show is that Anna’s mother takes revenge on the girls who lured her daughter and Catherine into the woods to be assaulted, but never on the boys who did the assaulting.
In the show, Anna and her mother are united at the end. They both know what has happened to the other and what the other has done, and they will both keep each other’s secrets …even from Jack, Anna’s husband. The book is never this clear, leaving it up to the reader to decide who knows what.
Does it work? That’s up to every viewer (and reader) to decide.
Did you enjoy His & Hers? Have you read the book? Share with us in the comments below!
His & Hers is now available to stream on Netflix.
