Well, in almost every case, Bill, I do rate the book higher than the film, keeping in mind of course that film is in itself a different art form. But in a book an author has the time (and the will, one hopes) to fully develop characters and their interactions with each other in ways that most films simply do not have the freedom to explore. Yes, I do hope you will read the book. It's one of my favorite types of books: stories told, first person, by an adult looking back on an important, defining moment in their childhood. So as the reader you are getting to share both the adult and the childhood lives of the narrator.