Senior Exam

   
   Christopher Priest's, The Prestige is based on a story of two competing magicians in the early 20th century and their constant struggle to out-perform one another. When reading The Prestige you feel like you are part of an endless tug-of-war game. "The man stole my life. I steal his trick," (Angier). 

   Parts of the novel such as plot and characters Priest did an excellent job of making the characters just as mysterious as their magic tricks. The two main characters, Angier and Borden are constantly trying to improve their version of the magic trick names, The Transported Man. Borden and Angier both continue to improve their version and in some cases use life-threatening experiments in order to suffocate their obsessions. Each character also has their own chapter, dedicated to showing the reader their opinion, their tricks and their personal life. This kind of severed writing seems like the best way to explain complex characters. Each character needs that much time because especially for Borden and Angier, there is just that much that needs to be said. But not every character throughout the entire novel had their own chapter to explain themselves. Olive, Borden's love interest was one of the weakest characters because of her lack of dialogue. When it comes to the plot, it is also just as split as the separate chapters. There are no loose ends but the way the story is crafted, it does leave you scratching your head. Every question is answered, maybe not the way you might initially think it should be, but it is answered. There are numerous stories tied together and they all end up answering the other ones question. For example when Angier is questioning Borden on how many times he tied the knot around his wife's wrists before she plunged into the water cage, Borden never really answers fully. There is a quote that sums up both Angier and Borden's thoughts very well. We'll have to dress it up a little. Disguise it. Give them enough reason to doubt it," (Ackerman). Not only is this the thought process of the characters, it's the thought process of the author as well. For as much mystery that takes place in this book, the plot moves quite quickly. Speaking on the quality of the novel, Priest wrote it well using insightful sentence structure as well as thoughts. It is also respectable to create such a serious book about such a light-hearted subject. Ranking this book, it ranks high but for reasons such as topic choice and quick-moving chapters, it does not rank highest on the scale. 

   The Prestige is a complex game played skillfully by two magicians. It reels you in with close success and drops you with devastating defeat. The book is not a read for the lazy or unimaginative. The book does not have time for slow readers nor will it take breaks to wait for them. For example when the reader believes that a certain character is a certain way, they may not be as they appear. And the author will not wait around, or write 3 pages of "fluff" to help the reader figure it out. Priest leaves that up to the reader. On a rating system of 5 stars, 5 being the best, this book rates a 3. The use of language, character development and pace of the story intrigue the reader but also might cause too much confusion. This book makes it easy for people to give up on it. Priest takes magic to a whole new level in his creation of this novel. He brings back the danger to magic and lets the reader live the suspense.This novel has a memorizing quality that weaves a web for the readers. Will you pick it apart?

 

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

I think to be considered non-fiction a book has to be 100 percent accurate. To me that has always been the definition of non-fiction. The job of a non-fiction piece of work is to tell a story yes, but a true story. When I think of non-fiction I think of those children's books talking about birds or explaining the water cycle. Juvenile I know, but that is what I picture and anything far from that isn't really non-fiction in my book. I believe that it does not matter if you are writing a non-fiction piece and you are stretching the truth, as long as you change the genre of the book from non-fiction to fiction. If not, your writing is an outright lie and should be taken down from shelves until the print on the front cover reads non-fiction. In fact, it's not really fair to do that to other authors. They have worked hard crafting their thoughts ideas and experiences into a novel. They aren't lying when they say they are a fiction writer. So what gives you the right to call yourself something that you are not? David Shields was incorrect when he said that we do not need a distinction between non-fiction and fiction. Yes people can write both, but in my opinion when I pick up a book I want to know how true to reality it is or it isn't. I think not defining this will leave readers with more questions than answers. I think it is important to give readers a fair view of yourself and by taking away the definition of your work, you are not doing that.