The title of Christopher Priest’s THE PRESTIGE refers to the payoff of a magic trick, i.e. the rabbit which is pulled from a hat. So what’s the prestige of THE PRESTIGE? The whole damn thing. Seriously, if it weren’t 10 years old, this would easily make my Top 10 list for 2005. Originally published in 1995 and the deserved winner of the World Fantasy Award, THE PRESTIGE is now available for the first time in trade paperback, from Tor. Its release, however belated, is most welcome.
At its core, THE PRESTIGE is about two warring magicians in late 19th-century England. One – Alfred Borden – catches another – Rupert Angier – cheating the grieve-stricken at a falsified séance and exposes him. Embarrassed, Angier shows up at one of Borden’s stage performances and blurts out the magician’s secrets before he can finish the trick. The game is on. And on it goes for years and years, with each side brandishing a hatchet they’re unwilling to bury.
But what makes Priest’s novel so unique is the manner in which is told, from four different voices. It begins in present day, narrated by Andrew Westley, a young man unable to shake the sinister feeling that he has an identical twin, despite neither memory nor record of one. His near-impossible search leads him to the home of Lady Katherine, who recalls a most horrifying incident from her childhood that binds them. The two share something else in common as well, as they are descendants of Borden and Angier, respectively.
The narrative then jumps back in time to allow Borden to tell of his ongoing beef with Angier, via a magic book-cum-biography. Then Angier gets his say – in THE PRESTIGE’s largest chunk – through diary entries that span decades, from his unhappy upbringing to his most unusual business solicitation of inventor and electrical pioneer Nikola Tesla. Scattershot though this all may sound, every point has its purpose, and Priest ties them together magnificently as the stories, both separately and at large, thread together toward a disturbing outcome.
In structure and story, THE PRESTIGE is a puzzle novel; I couldn’t figure out its secrets and was startled when they were revealed, layer by layer. Priest does an excellent job in doling out the crumbs as he leads us along, and in making us question how much we can trust the narrators. The difference between good and bad is blurred, flipped and shattered, making for a compelling, masterful read.
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Also for those who don’t want to read this. Christopher Nolan will be making into a film with Wolverine, Batman, and Ziggy Stardust.
I meant to mention that in my review. Nolan’s going to have a field day with this material — it’s right up his alley.
I really look forward to the movie now. Because of the book’s non-linear structure, it’ll be interesting to compare the two. I don’t think you should deny yourself reading this for fear of spoiling the movie; rather, my movie experience will be greatly heightened by having read it, because I can’t figure out how they’re going to pull these tricks (so to speak) off.
Oh trust me I want to read this once I found out months ago about the movie searching all the used bookstores. Looks like when Channukah comes and i get my gift card to one of the chain book places, I’ll pick it up.
Scarlett Johansson has just joined the cast. This movie just sounds better and better.