I agree the book was awful ....That whole Johnny Fontaine story as well as Lucy Mancini and the doctor were really boring...I found myself comparing Carmella in the book to the movie..am I right that in the movie the only words she spoke in English were" See your children first...I sent the the car for you a week ago!!! " The charaters in the movie were so well formed that herer we are still disecting them years and years later..in the book the characters were totlly forgetable...