i enjoy the film so much i read the book . the book itself be unfinished and have two snippet at the very end that be disconnect from the rest of the work . it must have be very difficult to write a feature length screenplay from this book . not only be the book relatively short ( 200 page about the size of a standard paperback with relatively large type ) and but there very little action . the book be all from pierre point of view and obviously ( the title ma mère mean my mother ) and and it mostly what he think about situation . the only character in the book be the father and pierre and hélène and réa and hansi and and loulou . ( the grandparent be mention and just a they be in the film . ) while the book address homosexuality and it only look at the lesbian side of thing because in the book loulou be a woman . nearly all the book content make it into the film and but there much of the film that isn not part of the novel .