Stardust (1998)

Gaiman, Neil. Stardust. 1998. Harper Perennial, 2006.
SPOILER ALERT.
Reading Stardust shortly after I watched the 2007 film adaptation with a screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, I was struck by the difference in the tone of the book and film. There is a nice side-by-side comparison of the two on Stack Exchange (adaptation comparison - Stardust book to film differences? - Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack Exchange). Gaiman draws his inspiration from comic books, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and classic fantasies by the likes of C. S. Lewis and Tolkien. His wit is dry, understated, and literary. We have the sense that growing up is a sad business. When Tristran meets his mom at the end, the first thing she does is tell him to get to work, and he finds he can never really make his star-goddess lover happy. When they are considering marriage, she tells him, you know, we are never likely to have children. By contrast, the screenwriters tighten up the plot, speed up the action, and go all-in on the Rom-Com elements. Vaughn has said he was inspired by The Princess Bride and Midnight Run. One can also see the influence of Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam, who was involved in the early days of the project. Reading the novel, you will look in vain for the prototype of DeNiro’s Captain Shakespeare character. 4 stars, ( )

A cute little adventure in fairyland... ( )

A somewhat odd fairytale, but a good one. ( )

This is the first time, I'd read Stardust. Usually I like to read the book then see the film if I liked the book. I almost always like the book better then the film. For some reason, I hadn't known the film was written by Gaiman or I'd have read it first. I really liked the movie, and now many years later when have finally read the book, and enjoyed the adult fairy tale very much. It's fairly short so the characters don't get a lot of development side from the main two, but that's alright a fairy tale is more about the story than the character development and the main character does indeed grow and change as he moves through the story.

But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again
C.S. Lewis
( )

Dunstan Thorn is a young man from Wall, England. He goes through the wall (between worlds) to a faerie market that comes to the border every 9 years. He ends up getting a slave woman pregnant and 9 months later, a now married Dunstan is left with his new baby, found at the gap in the wall.

Fast-forward to a young adult Tristran Thorn (Dunstan’s son) who doesn’t seem to fit in his their town of Wall. He is willing to do anything to win the love of the town beauty, Victoria. He claims he will find a fallen star (one they see in the sky one evening) for her and sets off through the wall to find it (none from the town of Wall, besides Tristran’s father ever go across the wall). There are two other groups searching for the fallen star as well.

A group of three witch sisters are searching for the star to cut out its heart to gain eternal youth and beauty. The remaining three sons of the Lord of Stormhold are also searching for it as their father’s necklace is what knocked her out of the sky and she now has the necklace. Whichever brother brings it back will be named the next king. Tristran finds the fallen star, a young woman named Yvaine and the adventures of all three groups intertwine as they try to reach their goals.

Once returning to Wall, Tristran tells Victoria he has found the fallen star but Victoria wants to marry Mr. Monday. Tristran returns to faerie and kisses Yvaine and fulfills a prophecy that sets the slave woman free. The slave woman, also Tristran’s mother, ends up being the only daughter of the Lord of Stormhold, making Tristran an heir. Tristran who has the fallen star and the necklace ends up ruling Stormhold.

Although it is an adult novel, I would recommend this book to adults and young adults alike. It can appeal to a variety of readers because it holds a variety of aspects and genres in its plotline. The mystery of the land beyond the wall and the adventures of the people who live there could interest readers who enjoy those genres. For those who like fantasy there are witches, fallen stars who are people, faeries, magic, and flying pirates in the sky. It has action and some violence as the sons of the Lord of Stormhold kill each other off to win the crown. It has romance as Yvaine and Tristran fall in love throughout the novel’s story. With so many genres, this can appeal to many readers, however I would suggest readers who are 13 as some of the violent content may be more suitable for older readers.

For more information on Neil Gaiman - https://www.neilgaiman.com/
For information on the Stardust novel and movie comparisons - https://feastsandflicks.livejournal.com/3972.html ( )