 Kaufman 's wife Rose wrote the screenplay 's first draft . It took her several years to complete ; she found adapting the entire novel difficult . Some of the characters and stories from the novel were either changed or given retroactive continuity . Despite the differences , Richard Price approved of Kaufman 's adaptation , saying , " I love that picture . It 's not my book , and I don 't care . The spirit is right , and the way Phil Kaufman directed it showed me another way of looking at my own book . " 
