Christopher Priest: The Prestige

The Prestige

Although The Prestige is categorized as science fiction, there are no spaceships, alternate galaxies, or aliens. I believe it falls into that category because science, albeit early 20th-century science, is a major part of the plot. It did receive the World Fantasy Award in 1996, but there are no dragons or elves here, either.

The only other information I had before reading the book was of a rivalry between two magicians, so I assumed the title word, “prestige,” connoted the fame and fortune associated with performers. Rather, it refers to “the effect (emphasis added), or…the product of magic” (73), which is important to keep in mind as you read.

The Prestige is written in first person from different characters’ points of view, and is divided into five parts. The story itself takes place in 1990s England and begins in that era, narrated by adoptee Andrew Westley. He knows his birth name is Nicholas Borden and that he is the great-grandson of the magician Alfred Borden.

Kate Angier, great-granddaughter of Borden’s rival, Rupert Angier, lures Andrew to her estate that has long been in the family’s possession, and where her great-grandfather grew up, to put an end to the feud between Alfred and Rupert, even though the rivalry has no impact on either Kate’s or Andrew’s current lives. However, she also seeks answers to something she witnessed as a child–something that involved Rupert’s greatest illusion, as well as a young Nicholas Borden.

The portions narrated by Rupert and Alfred are from diaries each man kept. The novel itself spans only one night, so it may be assumed that as the reader reads the magicians’ accounts, Andrew is reading them for the first time, alongside the reader, which, in a way, makes the reader part of The Prestige. This narrative technique makes the novel unconventional and almost ground-breaking: who is the protagonist? The antagonist? Perhaps there is neither. Perhaps there is both, which changes depending on the present narrator.

As confusing as that sounds, the story itself is easy to follow. I think the only reason it took me so long to finish has to do with my mood disorder(s) and current inability to concentrate, rather than the novel’s quality. The conclusion, unfortunately, is rushed and abrupt. It doesn’t end in a nice, neat package, but then again, the book isn’t written that way. Perhaps that’s what makes it unique.

Tonight we’re going to see the movie version, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.