Are You Reading Closely?

Title: The Prestige

Author: Christopher Priest

Rating: ****1/2

Review: The Prestige is one of my favorite movies. Christian Bale stars as a magician, an illusionist (Christian is reason enough to watch the movie...). Christian is one of my favorite actors, and director Christopher Nolan is amazing as well. Reviewers of both book and movie said the book was better. I've been waiting for years to have the opportunity to read it. I read clips of it online. I sent my poor librarians on a wild goose chase across the state for it. I devoured the first three sections in days. Finally, I reached the last few pages. The story had unfolded. Some things were revealed in the novel that were merely hinted at in the film. I was, however, HIGHLY disappointed with the ending. My ex-husband and I argued over which was better, The Prestige or The Illusionist. I was confident the book would provide ample ammunition to prove my point. I was wrong. The book is okay, but just that. I feel *gasp!* the movie is far better. I typically don't like books-turned-movies, for I feel you lose much of the story durning the transition. With The Pretige, the filmmakers merely added to the drama. I felt the movie draws you in quickly, while its a good fifty pages or more before the book gets into the story. If you don't have much time, watch the movie.