, if Fleabag were forced to reckon with being a mother. But when it comes to advice columns, perhaps we don’t need a “girlboss” telling us how to become the portrait of womanhood. No, we need someone like Clare, who will see us into the gloomy black holes of life and pull us out too. Clare is the perfect lead for the adaptation of Strayed’s self-help classic.
Even as Tiny Beautiful Things is a very loose adaptation of its source material—there’s really no tried-and-true method of spinning advice columns into television—Clare keeps the miniseries feeling both familiar and engrossing. It uses Strayed’s book to center its story more than just recreate it, weaving new plots around the memorable “Dear Sugar” writings. But if you’re looking for a more straightforward adaptation of one of your favorite books, you’re not going to find it here.
Still, you’ll find bits and bobs of the original Tiny Beautiful Things in Clare’s monologues, the moments Strayed only briefly mentions in the book but fully experiences here, and the overarching tone. Although Tiny Beautiful Things does not follow the structure of the book at all, it is an honest adaptation of its spirit, making this a meaningful treat for fans of the book and newcomers alike.
