Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I had no idea Stardust
All the same, I immensely loved the movie! Now that I’ve finally read the book, I found that it’s quite different from what I saw on the big screen. But it still was a magnificent read. Although the book looks like it’s meant for children, it certainly is not. There are parts and words in it which would not be appropriate for younger readers at all. That was another surprise to me too. I’ve always thought it’s a children’s fantasy book but it’s not.
So, at the beginning, Dunstan Thorn crosses the gap that separates Wall, England and Fairie or Stormhold. Fairie is nothing like Wall. Wall is like our normal world while Fairie is a magical place with creatures and objects you will not find in Wall. Dunstan then meets a pretty slave girl and falls for her. They slept with each other and nine months later, a baby was delivered to Dunstan. That baby was Tristran Thorn.
Tristran grew up to be an ordinary young boy with some extraordinary features like an ear which is almost pointed for example. He’s also in love with the beautiful Victoria Forester. Unfortunately, she’s not that interested with him. She’s broken lots of hearts anyway, so why should she show interest in an ordinary boy like Tristran?
However, one evening when Tristran managed to walk Victoria home, they witness a falling star. Hoping to win her heart, Tristran promised Victoria that he’ll find the star for her. In return, she should grant him anything he desires. Because of that, the love stricken young man bid farewell to his family and set off to find the star in Fairie.
During his journey, he meets a little man who helps him. He gives Tristran a special candle and a thin silver chain. In the movie, his mother gave him a Babylon candle and the chain instead.
Now, Tristran isn’t the only one who’s looking for the fallen star. The witch-queen is looking for it too. She and her sisters are old hags but if they eat the heart of a star, their youth and beauty will be restored for a while at least. Michelle Pfeiffer did a really good job acting as the witch in the movie.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell how the star fell in the first place! Well, she was hit by the topaz necklace which was released by the dying Lord of Stormhold. The son who manages to retrieve the necklace will be the next Lord of Stormhold.
Nevertheless, when Tristran and the star, Yvaine first meet each other, they didn’t get along well. She didn’t get along with him actually. She was just a miserable, bad-tempered fallen star and he was only interested in bringing her back to his true love, Victoria.
All in all, it was a great book. The movie’s
Other Bloggers’ Reviews: Care, Robyn, Kim, nylusmilk
August 15th, 2008 at 12:05 am
hi! Good review – I, too, enjoyed the movie more and agree that it had more humor.
August 16th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Great review, Josette! I love the book and I like the movie as well.
August 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
The novel was adapted from a graphic novel (aka comic book) by Gaiman and Charles Vess. I recommend it highly; the color illustrations are lovely, and they perfectly complement the text.
I can’t speak for the novelization, which I haven’t read, but I remember the humor of the GN was very dry, and sometimes subtly emphasized in the illos.
August 17th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
This is the first book I read by Gaiman and now I’m a fan. Glad you enjoyed it.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Care: Hi, thanks. The movie’s incomparable. One of the best movies of now.
Alice: Hi, thanks! Me too.
Girl Detective: Hi, oh, I didn’t know that. I thought the graphic novel was adapted from the book. So, it’s the other way round, huh? Will look out for the GN. Thanks for the recommendation!
Framed: Hi, this was my first Gaiman book too. Can’t wait to read more.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
As a non-fantasy fan, I’m glad to report that I finally watched the movie on DVD and totally enjoyed it!
The action was so exciting that even my 2.5 year old stayed glued to the TV set LOL
Can’t wait to read the book…
August 25th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
KittyCat: Hi there, glad to know you’ve finally watched the movie and that you’ve enjoyed it too!
Well, I hope it’s also one of your kid’s favourite movies. 
August 29th, 2008 at 4:11 am
I think it’s almost a rule that people who read the book first like the book better, and people who saw the movie first think it’s better (my teammate here says I need to read “About a Boy” to find out if it’s really true, since I saw the movie already).
That said, the humour in the movie was much less subtle. I think all Neil Gaiman’s writing is funny, but then, my spirit guide is a hyena.
September 4th, 2008 at 8:04 am
You can put me in the read the book but haven’t seen the movie category. I really enjoyed the book and it’s one of my favorite of Gaiman’s. I’m also probably one of the ones who will say I liked the book better than the movie (provided I get around to watching it) because that’s the way that I am.
September 8th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Robyn: A most interesting rule you got there! Haha! A survey should be done if we really want specific answers.
trishaj: It’s nice to know that this is one of your favourite Gaiman books. And the movie’s not like the book. Story and characters are a bit different. So yeah, no wonder people prefer one over the other!
September 13th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I’ve never read the novel, but I read the graphic novel before I saw the movie, and I definitely liked the book better! The illustrations are just so beautiful.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I will buck the trend a little. I read the book first and was just not that impressed. I thought the movie was great, though. I think my problem with the book was that I had heard that it was fantastic and I was probably expecting too much. Just my opinion.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Lorin: I want to read the graphic novel! Only read the book and watched the movie.
Kim: Hi Kim, I kind of had expectations for the book since I had such a fun time watching the movie. Maybe they shouldn’t be compared with each other at all as they are quite different!
October 1st, 2008 at 5:05 pm
haha, i now only know that the book was written in 1998! thanks to you.
like you, i enjoyed the book, but i watched the movie first so i preferred the movie. it had a happier ending too!
check out my review here: http://nylusmilk.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/stardust-neil-gaiman/
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
nylusmilk: Hi there, thanks for the link to your review. I’ve added to my post already.
Yeah, it sure was a surprise to me when I found out how old this book actually was. When this book was published, I was only 11! Well, it wouldn’t be a suitable book for me anyway.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
[...] (The Dark Child)8. Carrie K. (My Husband’s Sweethearts)9. Carrie K. (Stealing Athena)10. Josette (Stardust)11. Kelly (What Was Lost)12. Barbara H. (Green Leaf in Drought by Isobel Kuhn)13. Barbara H. [...]