Priest, Christopher - The Prestige

[oyceter]

In late Victorian and early Edwardian England, stage magicians Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier form a rivalry with each other that eventually affects not only them, but also their descendents.

Plot summaries for this book aren't particularly satisfying, as the bulk of the book is in its structure. We begin with the descendents finding out more about their magician ancestors via diaries, and Alfred Borden's begins by telling you he is performaing a magic trick with his very narrative. Angier's diaries, not written for potential publication, don't have quite the same sense of illusion and mystery about them until the final bits.

I read this after I had seen the movie, so I already knew the major revelations. While I liked the additional details in the book, particularly about stagecraft and magic, the movie version of the characters and motivations resonated more with me. As such, I'm not sure how much of my dissatisfaction from the book stems from the book itself, and how much stems from comparison to the movie.

I was particularly irritated by the framing device of the descendents, given how Priest developed it. Due to mentions of the Borden-Angier feud lasting for generations, I wanted to see more of how both men affected their families. Instead, the bulk of the novel is still about Borden and Angier's personal lives, so much so that the single feud-like event from later on read as completely random to me. There is no sense of why the feud extends beyond Borden and Angier, save the fact that Priest needs to wrap up his story thematically.

The other bit that bothered me was how pointless the feud felt. Obviously, I know it should feel pointless to anyone but the two men involved, but the sense of urgency and obsession and rising stakes from the movie is completely missing. Instead, my impression was that either man could have walked away at any time, not out of better judgment, but out of simple ennui, which doesn't seem to be the best end to a multi-generation feud. I'm fine with the feud itself feeling petty and stupid, but it seemed that both Borden and Angier thought so as well at quite a few points in the narrative, which made me just want to shake them and ask them why they kept it going outside of "needed to further the plot." I was also intrigued by the bits of internal conflict hinted at in Borden's narrative, and I actually think I would have rather read a book about that than about the Borden-Angier conflict.

Finally, I have no idea what happened in the last two pages or so.

Spoilers for book AND movie

So has Angier just been lurking around the mansion basement for several decades? What did he do? Did the rest of the family know? For a bit, I thought he might have continually staged himself as the Earl of Coldenham 14, 15, 16, etc. by conveniently dying off every so often, since that was the only explanation I could think of for Kate's father throwing Nicky into the machine. Otherwise, that level of hatred and maliciousness felt extremely out of place. We get very little about the generations in between to explain why Clive Borden may have wanted to apologize, or why Kate's father would be angry about it. Is it the Bordens' desire to figure out the trick?

The final reveal of the vault of "prestige materials" was appropriately creepy, as was the roundabout way Angier talked about the prestige materials and his plans for them. I guess my main issue is that I never felt that Angier was sufficiently motivated to go to such lengths for a magic trick. We get a little about Julia pushing him back into the world of magic, as well as his desire to figure out what makes The New Transported Man work, but the bulk of his diary read to me as though magic were something he could put down and not think about, which doesn't fit the amount of energy and money he pours into the Tesla machine. Whereas the movie has Angier pushing Olivia away to spy on Borden, the book making the spying Olivia's idea lessens the impact of Angier's desire to know Borden's tricks.

Borden, on the other hand, I would believe that of. The overarching reach of the Pact, the disagreement between the Bordens, the conflict between life with Sarah and life with Olivia... all that I found much more fascinating. It also felt as though one twin was more pulled toward a non-magic life, as opposed to the other, who found the trick of the prestige of the highest importance and not trivial at all, and that's the conflict I was most interested in.

I was also expecting more about the thread of twins in the Borden line, given Andrew's intial narration, Borden's own lives, and the fact that his children with Sarah are twins.

Overall, Priest's puzzle box is intriguing and satisfying as a puzzle, but it didn't work that well for me as a story, at least in comparison with the movie. I probably would have been much more impressed had I read it first.

I am going to assume that there are spoilers for both book AND movie in the comments, since it's pretty difficult to discuss either without spoilers.

Links (assume spoilers!):
- coffeeandink on book and film
- Gary Westfahl's review of the film, with comparisons to the book, most of which I disagree with
- instant_fanzine discussion of the book
- kate_nepveu's thoughts

Any other links? I think I read them when the movie came out in 2006 (it was that long ago?!), but it'd be interesting to reread now that I've read the novel.

Comments

[veejane]

I read the book after the movie as well, and though I think I can separate them in my mind, the book suffers in comparison. (I think I revewed both, probably a year apart, but memfault any links.) Mostly I recall its suffering in pacing, and in the thematics coming round to the end: something about the twinned Angiers not being solid, whole people just didn't work for me. I think because I too found Alfred by far the most interesting element, how they worked together, even when it got contentious. Their intimacy showed the success of twinning, and to see book-Angier make such a pale (literally) rehearsal of it felt more monstrous, even, than movie-Angier's behavior.

Movie-Angier at least made a whole twin, and "risked" his own death every time. (*) It was insane, and relied on murder, and he obviously didn't love and couldn't work with each successive twin (didn't even try), but that was the point: that he could have what Alfred had; it was right in front of him; and he just couldn't stand to share the limelight. He was a bad magician.

(* And I like and empathize with the body-horror of discovering your doppelganger, even an expected one, and attacking him as an imposter. That funhouse mirror revulsion is a trope I find fqascinating.)

[oyceter]

Haha, it is nice to know I am not the only person who found the movie more interesting than the book. I hadn't quite thought about the Angiers not being solid as an unsatisfying note... in a way, it makes book-Angier's behavior feel less monstrous to me, but because of that, it makes less of an impact on me. In some way, having Borden be at fault for the split Angiers also made the book less satisfying; the Bordens very obviously have made their own bed and slept in it re: twins, but Angier's end tragedy feels a bit half assed.

Actually, the entire book feels paler and less committed to me, which very much diminishes the end effect of figuring out the puzzle.

[rachelmanija]

I never understood the ending either, but have now forgotten exactly what happened. If I recall correctly, Angier got interrupted by Borden halfway through teleporting/cloning, and so was dying. But mysteriously got better? (Why?)

And the narrator from the frame story believed he had a twin, because he'd fallen into the machine (how?) and his "prestige material" was still locked in the basement with all of Angier's "prestige materials." What were the prestige materials, anyway? Did they have awareness? Were they fully aware but paralyzed clones? Or something else? I was very confused by this.

And... uh... fucked-up Angier was still lurking around? Got me.

The book is indeed more impressive if you read it first. The movie has everything that's good about the book (the concept and some of the plot) and fixes its flaws by ditching the confusing frame story, giving more juice to the rivalry, making the "prestige materials" thing about a billion times creepier, and providing a third act that makes sense.

[oyceter]

It's something like: Andrew Westley (the narrator) was adopted at 3 and recently gets a package that turns out to be Angier's edited version of Borden's diaries (speaking of which, I'm particularly annoyed that the book doesn't quite say how Angier got his hands on it or talk about him editing it!). Andrew has always felt like he had a twin despite all evidence to the contrary and when he goes to the Angier estate to meet up with Kate Angier, he feels his twin more strongly.

Something something something, turns out he has a twin because his father went to Kate's father and tried to reconcile (over what?! no evidence of a future feud!), stuff goes badly, Kate's father for reasons that are never explained grabs kid-Andrew and throws him into the machine. Kate is scarred for life. Andrew doesn't remember. I am completely confused as I read and wonder briefly if Kate's father is actually fucked-up Angier, but nothing more is really said about it.

But yeah, Angier gets interrupted and thereby split into two, and I think one part is more the spirit part which lives, and one part is the body part which wastes away and dies. And the spirit eventually decides to use the teleporter to teleport himself into one of the "prestige materials," but instead of dying like he thinks he will, he just kind of sticks around the mansion basement? No idea!

I can't figure out what exactly the prestige materials were either! Clones, obviously, but I can't figure out how sentient they are or anything or why they don't decompose. I don't think they have awareness in the book? Which actually makes Angier's actions less disturbing to me... I think the room of prestige materials is even freakier because they aren't dead or alive, but it makes the story that much less effective because it's more the creepiness of the thing and less the creepiness of the action.

The movie has everything that's good about the book (the concept and some of the plot) and fixes its flaws by ditching the confusing frame story, giving more juice to the rivalry, making the "prestige materials" thing about a billion times creepier, and providing a third act that makes sense.

That was pretty much my impression! I was thinking maybe I was too influenced by the movie, but the way the plot plays out in the book makes absolutely no sense without that sense of obsession and rivalry in the movie.

[metaphortunate]

Fascinating: sounds like one of the rare movie adaptations that's better than the original book.

[oyceter]

I definitely think so, although of course I reserve the right to reverse my opinion upon a rewatch ;). But the Locus review linked to above very much likes the book better for the same reasons I dislike the book, so... YMMV? Would be interested to see what other people thought!

[lovepeaceohana]

Huh. I remember having seen this movie, and loved it inasmuch as I can love anything whose ending creeps me right the fuck out - I hadn't realized there was a book! But reading this makes me kind of think I shouldn't, because I am also not such a huge fan of "feuding cause it's the done thing" trope.

Although, I am intrigued, because I'm not following what's happening at the very end. It seems to be very different from the film because of different characters? What's this about the kid (Nicky?) thrown into the clone-making machine? *soooo confused*

[oyceter]

The end is very confusing!

So the framing story of the novel is Andrew Westley, formerly Nicholas (Nicky) Borden, discovering more about his Borden past by going to the Angier mansion. Andrew has always felt like he's had a twin brother, even though there's absolutely no proof of the fact. We find out later that when he was three and Kate Angier was 8ish, Clive Borden (Andrew/Nicky's father) took him to the Angier mansion to make up with the Angiers for reasons still unbeknownst to me.

Reconciliation goes badly, and somehow, Kate's father throws Nicky into the machine. Clive Borden weeps over the dead-ish (?) clone of Nicky and then gives Nicky up for adoption, whereupon he assumes the name of Andrew Westley. I have no idea why the adoption either.

Eh... does that make any sense? All this kind of happens in the framing narrative. The bulk of the book is Borden's diary and Angier's diary, which the movie follows fairly closely, except their feud is far more petty. Instead of Borden and Angier having worked together before, Borden interrupts a seance Angier is holding and discredits him. Most of their feuding bits are just exposing each others' tricks; there's no death of Julia, no finger amputation, no bird cage snapping shut.

[lovepeaceohana]

I guess it makes as much sense to me as it does to you. I'm not getting the adoption thing either :\ He sees the clone, but then still gives his kid up for adoption anyway? Maybe he's trying to help the kid escape the family feud? When you first mentioned it I had thought that maybe the kid's dad only saw the dead-ish clone, and didn't realize the kid was still alive, and then the other guy gave the kid up for adoption.

And, whoa yeah, that's way more petty of a feud. ffs.

Thanks for explaining it, though. I'll have to watch the movie again - all this discussion is fascinating, but my memory has so many holes that I feel like I'm missing half the understandings and aha moments ^^;

[oyceter]

Yeah, I think my impression was that he saw the dead(ish) clone but he was the one who gave up his own kid for adoption. No idea!!

I am totally watching the movie again as well, just to see if I still think it holds up better!

[ranalore]

I haven't read the book, in large part because both the press and the author's self-promotion when it came out was so very, "Oh, it's so clever!" Long experience has taught me that narratives lauded as such generally aren't, and are often so smug they tap dance on my nerves. In fact, the only reason I saw the movie was the lure of cinema!Tesla (and then to see David Bowie in the role was just so perfect I actually cried), and while I liked it, I figured out the "twist" pretty early, so the mystery certainly would never have been a draw for me. I also knew two hours was all the time I was willing to spend in Borden and Angier's company, so a whole book of them? No thanks.

[oyceter]

I am one of those people who never figures out the twist, so I did think the movie was cool (also, Tesla!). But I think if you weren't drawn in by Borden and Angier in the movie, you'd be less so in the book? It's hard to say... they are less despicable in the book, but they're also more boring.

[inkspills]

I burned through The Prestige when I read it a few years ago; I couldn't put the thing down. And now I don't remember most of it! That just goes to show that gripping-ness is not necessarily an indicator of memorability.

I read The Glamour recently and liked it a lot. Again with the not being able to remember much beside the central gimmick, though. Priest seems to be like that, clever but ultimately cold.

[oyceter]

Hee! Actually, a lot of my disgruntlement with the book is because I stayed up until way too late finishing the thing and was disappointed by the ending! Oh, hours I could have slept instead....

I'm still looking forward to reading more Priest, though, just to see if I react the same way.