Yesterday evening, after blogging about reading it, I finished 2001: A Space Odyssey and I really, really liked it. From what I’ve understood it has gotten some (maybe even a lot of) critique over the years for spelling things out in the ending part, rather than being artfully vague like Kubrick’s film. Personally, I prefer the spelled out version.

Keep in mind, it’s been at least ten years since the one and only time that I watched the movie so I’m working from old memories here. However, I do remember not ”getting it” in the end. Now, it’s perfectly fine to make a movie that not everybody ”gets”. It’s even okay to make a movie that you are not supposed to get.¹ But 2001 seems like a movie that has a clear narrative, but then decides to make the ending abstract even though nothing up until that point has been like that.

By contrast, by spelling things out the book can focus on the ideas and present them in a clear way.