Seeing as how there isn't anything I would like more than being the meat in a big ol' Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman sandwich, I have seen The Prestige about thirty times, no exagerration needed. The movie itself, obviously left me hungry for more detail, more backstory, just more. So I picked up, via Amazon (who knows me so well) a copy of The Prestige, a novel by Christopher Priest on which the movie was based.
Loosely. The characters all have the same names and occupations, sure, but really that's where the similarity ends.
The book is told through a series of journal entries from the viewpoint of Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier, and some first-person narrative of the descendents of those men. The novel begins with a descendent of Alfred Borden, Andrew Westley, an author for a sensationalist rag of sorts, crossing paths with Kate Angiers. There isn't a huge amount of information given, only that Andrew feels deeply that he has a missing twin that he has no recollection of meeting, there is great tragedy intertwined within the histories of Borden and Angier, and that there is a larger mystery that we just have to be patient enough to be rewarded with the answers.
The book on its own is a decent read. Priest is very sparing, revealing bits of the picture as the narrative progresses, and there aren't any grand revelations until the last pages. I found the way the journal entries of the two illusionists give varying viewpoints of the same events intriguing; for instance, the initial event that led to the multi-generational inter-family squabble is completely different as viewed by the offender vs. the offendee. I believe I cheated myself somewhat by stubbornly trying to find the narrative of the movie buried in the narrative of the book; it's really not there.
The subject of Borden's *spoiler* twin is barely touched upon, and never takes center stage. *end spoiler*
I sought out the novel because I wanted clarification of a movie I absolutely love, i.e., what's the connection with Lord Caldlow? What about Alfred's interactions with Tesla, if there were any? What I found was a novel that was hacked to pieces and restructured completely, sort of like a Bratz doll (ever see these things with the dismembered feet and whatnot? Creepy) to create an entirely different story for the cinema crowds. Both stories are interesting and engaging, centered around Rupert Angier's unsatiated desire for knowledge and prestige (the definition I am more familiar with), and the price he paid for obtaining both.
Labels: cannonball read
