The Prestige by Christopher Priest Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Prestige
Book Review: TURGID
Summary: 3 Stars
I miss this book the first time around and decided to read it when I saw the movie trailer recently. Well, to be kind, after the first half of this over-written, bloated, depressing novel it actually blossomed into an interesting read. The section on Nikola Tesla was very engaging and help speed up the plodding plot. The first 150+ pages required a dedication to complete the book. The last 150 pages rewarded the reader with success and an entertaining ending. Mr. Priest's plot was interesting but simply required too much of the reader. If you read this novel be prepared to plod your way through the beginning to reach the beef. Sorry, you can't skim as it is simply too complex and if you do the ending will not make much sense. So, realize this and force yourself to wad through the ponderous first pages.
By the way, NO MAGIC SECRETS are divulged. I mean come on just tickle us with a few, "Oh that's how it is done!" Sadly, No.
Extensive character development as this is really what the book is all about. Good Luck but just be ready.
Book Review: Ta-da!!! Ooops....
Summary: 2 Stars
Four voices, three--make that two and a half--principals, scientific silliness, and no denouement. The cover and other reviews tout a surprise ending. It certainly surprised me. I expected a clever resolution, but got no resolution at all.
Carter Beats the Devil, a far superior novel, had a real surprise ending, and I expected something of that order of cleverness. Not here. Here we have a magician pulling the scarf off of his hand and--ta da!!--a rabbit, but a dead one. Sheesh....
A 400 page anticlimax
Book Review: The Movie Was Better...But I Still Really Enjoyed The Book!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I basically purchased this book because I had seen the movie version, which I really enjoyed (Hugh Jackman was a big reason for that). I was curious to see how close the movie was to the book, so I bought the book from amazon and have finished reading it about a month ago. I was quite surprised actually. The book seems very different from the movie to me. I mean...they both have the same basic story about two rival magicians and some details are the same, but the book is actually quite different from the movie.
In this book, the story is told in two parts. The first part is told by the magician Alfred Borden who tells his version of this paticular rivalary and what he thinks happend. The second part is told by the other magician Rupert Angier (which was actually my favoirte part of the book). In between both of those parts it shows two of their relatives that live in the present day who discuss their families rivalary while reading their ancestors journals.
I thought that this book was very well written and had a very interesting story behind it. I also thought where the story went was very interesting. Even though I had seen the movie, there were points that I didn't guess before they happened. The part that I really enjoyed was Angier's part. The way it was written and what happened was so good. You could really see why he didn't like Borden and that he really had a good reason not to like him. Though as I say this, I didn't like what they did to the character. I felt like this version of the character didn't really know what he wanted or what decisions to make. For instance, he went through about four women in the book because he couldn't decide who he wanted and by the end of his story he had regretted leaving his wife (who doesn't die in the book and does in the movie). I really liked what they did with his character in the movie though. In the movie, Angier (Hugh Jackman) is completely in love with his wife and when he loses her, it leaves him a destroyed man. Through the rest of the movie, you see that this man loves and will never love anyone else. Even in the scenes with Scarlett Johanson's character, it is obvious that he is not in love with her and still loves his wife. And you can see on Angier's left hand a wedding band which he wears for the entire film. I really liked how they changed the character for the film. It made me like and understand Angier even more.
Another thing I wasn't really fond of was the ending. Something happens which is definetly different from the movie, and just left me kind of sad. Sadder then when I left the movie theater. If you really think about the ending after reading it, it's kind of depressing and weird. Anyway, I'll let you all read the ending yourselves and come up with your own opinion.
Yet even though I say all of this, I still really enjoyed the book and would really recommend it.
I personally enjoyed the movie better and would recommend it over the book (that's why I gave it a 4 star rating). The movie made the story much better and the characters were much more interesting. The movie basically improved the book. But if you are the kind of person who really enjoys reading a good character story or are like me and are interested in the differences between the book and movie...then I definetly recommend that you get this book. Even though I liked the movie better, I really really enjoyed reading the book, especially Angier's part, and would recommend it to all of you. I would actually say that you should see the movie before reading this book, but after that definetly get the book. All of you who are going to buy the book...ENJOY!!! I know I did!
Book Review: The Prestige Gained Light Applause
Summary: 3 Stars
It was as if the author could not figure the prestige of the novel after brilliant writing set up the ultimate trick. The change of POV was at time confusing, and the ending, well, it left this reviewer flat. Modest applause only here. Hope the movie is better.Book Review: The Prestige-worth the wait
Summary: 5 Stars
This book focuses on the professional rivalry that turn to personal obsessions. Though weighted with what seem to be needless detail, "watch closely", the Prestige is worth the wait!