Stardust is the story of Tristran Thorn and his travels through the land of Faerie to find a fallen star and bring it home to the girl he thinks he’s in love with. Along the way he encounters witches, who want the star for dark magical purposes, and princes with no interest in the star – they just want to find the jewel that will prove they are the rightful king of Stormhold.
Stardust was made into a film starring Clare Danes, Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. The basic plot is the same, but that’s as far as it goes. The novel is gentler, with less action and less humour than the film. If you read the novel hoping to meet Captain Shakespeare or Ferdy the Fence (played by Ricky Gervais), you’re going to be disappointed. Tristran does meet sky ‘pirates’, but there’s no cross-dressing captain and Tristran doesn’t learn swordplay. The end of the story is different, too, but I won’t say how.
The tagline for the film was “The fairy tale that wouldn’t behave.” That’s a pretty good description of the Stardust novel. There are references to old nursery rhymes and the Babylon candles in the film finally made sense. I enjoyed the book and I enjoyed the film, but they are two different things and each should be taken on its own merits. I recommend the book if you want a nice, gentle read. I recommend the film if you want family viewing with a mixture of action and humour.
