Book & Film Club – The Graduate

Each month we take a book that has an interesting film adaptation and spend the evening comparing the two. The ticket price includes a copy of the book (which can be collected from our Abergavenny bookshop once you’ve booked your place) and the film screening

The book
The Graduate by Charles Webb is a sharp, understated novel about post-college drift, alienation, and the quiet panic of early adulthood. Following Benjamin Braddock in the months after his graduation, the book captures a sense of generational disillusionment beneath the surface of suburban comfort. Webb’s spare prose and dark humour expose the pressure to succeed, settle down, and want the “right” things — even when none of it feels meaningful.

The film
Mike Nichols’s 1967 film adaptation turns Webb’s story into an iconic portrait of youthful confusion and rebellion. Anchored by Dustin Hoffman’s breakout performance, The Graduate blends satire, anxiety, and visual invention to capture Benjamin’s sense of being trapped by expectation. With its memorable use of music and striking imagery, the film sharpens the story’s critique of conformity and turns a private crisis into a generational statement.