FICTION

THE CROSSING GUARD: A Novel by David Rabe Based on the motion picture written by Sean Penn (Hyperion: $22.95; 301 pp.). Undertaking a literary novelization of a film may be sort of like writing a sonnet, since you are bound to certain events and dialogue, but within those constraints the possibilities are endless. Playwright David Rabe’s adaptation of a current film, “The Crossing Guard,” is interesting to read partly because it is a pretty good book, but mostly because it is amusing to see a character description that is clearly Jack Nicholson, yet within the context of the novel, not Jack Nicholson.

“Freddy manufactured a phony grin that distorted his face like he wanted to take a bite out of Rodger. He wiggled his eyebrows. . . .” Although the first half feels a bit forced, by the end of “The Crossing Guard,” Rabe fully inhabits his sad, emotionally complex novel.