Novels ready for a rehash...

[burntpunk]

yeah, the idea disgusts me too, this isn't true. There are always novels being adapted into movies, and the perpetual flow of trash spraying under the name of Fan Fiction makes me wanna burn the nipples of the Buddha, whom I love. Nevertheless, what classic novels do you reckon would be interesting in a contemporary context, if say written in this age? If a novelist was to completely rewrite, 1984, for instance, would this be a cool pick? Yes, I know, anyone but George Orwell writing that story is morally absurd, but what novels do you think would make splendid adaptions?

[The Comedian]

I don't know if the idea is that disturbing, great stories are often retold generation after generation. I think the unsettling part is if the story is explicitly cashing in on the reputation of the novel/book he or she is re-writing. For example, someone explicitly writing a new 1984. But science fiction writers who worry about the restrictions of modern life and write stories of authoritarianism set in a distant future, but expressing the concerns they feel about their current society. . . . nothing disturbs me about that.

[PeterL]

The truly great stories have been rewritten many times sine they were first included in the Enuma Elish or in homer's works. But for a modern rewrite that would be interesting, Gulliver's Travels might be interesting, but it would be impossible to keep it on Earth. Come to think of it, many SF novels are partial rewrites of it.

[oblivion252]

HG Well's Time Machine.
Plenty of people have attempted to write a 'sequel' but most have been dire rubbish. Someone good get out there and write a good 'sequel'!

[prendrelemick]

those very wordy novels, like Tom Jones or The Count of Monte Christo, could do with a rewrite or a least some severe editing - even if you kept them in their own time.

[hoo]

Old stories are always interesting, especially for Hollywood. No copyrights, prestige (classic!), free publicity.

[kelby_lake]

A story should be able to transcend its period.