The Hero's Journey

Keeping with the theme of "Hero's Journey," this week I read Neil Gaiman's "Stardust." A story about a young romantic to find a fallen star. I know the recommended reading was "The Hobbit," which I've tried to read multiple times before. I gave it another go this time, but I've always had trouble with the LOTR series. In terms of the books, I've found them a tad intimidating, partly because there's so much material with an enormous fan base, and partly because it is pretty male-centric. I enjoy the writing, the descriptions, and the world-building, and I've seen the movie a couple of times which I enjoy, but I have a hard time latching on to the story. I'll get through it someday, but until then, Stardust!

I'm a fan of the movie, (which I also watched part of recently,) but reading the text gave me an entirely new appreciation for the world and characters. The visual descriptions completely blew me away, as was expected. There were so many fantastic moments, character's emotions, themes, descriptions, that were never captured in the film. It felt like falling love with the characters and story all over again. (Of course, the bulk of this was read on Valentine's day.) It's ultimately romantic, possibly one of my favorite love stories. It takes the idea of a fantasy fairytale and turns in into something entirely original. A fallen star? Broke her leg on the way down! Characters at a standstill? Add a Unicorn! The ethereal love interest? Curses like a sailor. Neil Gaiman takes all of our expectations and twists them around, turning them on their ear. All of the characters were so much more developed, from Dustin and Una's backstory, to Victoria and the Captain.

The King's Sons are even more insufferable, Victoria is even more Snobbish, and the Witches are even more macabre. The literal star and heart of the story of course, Yvaine, is what makes this story one of my favorites. It's such an interesting concept to me, and I'm sure many other readers.

"Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really..."Do the stars gaze back?"

Tristen is all heart, 100%. Seeing him develop from the head-over-heels Victoria obsessed lovesick puppy to a fully formed headstrong and free-thinking hero was delightful, and I couldn't help but feel a bit proud. And Yvaine is spunky and fearless, with fantastic wordplay and a spitfire wit.

“He stared up at the stars: and it seemed to him then that they were dancers, stately and graceful, performing a dance almost infinite in its complexity. He imagined he could see the very faces of the stars; pale, they were, and smiling gently, as if they had spent so much time above the world, watching the scrambling and the joy and the pain of the people below them, that they could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” 

All of the themes of freedom, deception, and love were engaging and expertly done, and the character's connections woven throughout the novel gave me such a satisfying sense of "oh! that makes sense!" and "haha! so that's why it happened!" like solving a puzzle, or a Rubix cube. The interaction with the tree nymph was completely lost in the film, and I found that moment really lovely. Also, one change from book to the movie that I really preferred in the book was Victoria not initially telling Tristen about her engagement, and then Tristen's wish for her to marry Robert anyway. I think it showed a great deal of character development and growth, and also his growing attachment to Yvaine. Her development too, in the end finding more softness and warmth, even for the witches, was well written and well.

I'd also like to bump Chris Riddell's illustrations of the characters because they're fantastic. Picturing these characters in the story gave everything made everything feel so fresh and new. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes well-written fantasy stories, stars, and poetic/imaginative worldbuilding.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3pCwPrlFPpPXgHK2QCJKrYQ/chris-riddells-stardust-sketches