I have so much to say, but I'll keep it short (don't worry). One thing I didn't get from the movie is that Jareth wanted Sarah to look for him (and she doesn't know why). In the movie, I thought Sarah was looking for Jareth because she was in unfamiliar territory (ADULT WORLD) and then she saw him. Although these are my thoughts on the book, let me say that this is one of the most wonderful movies I have ever seen. It always seems to me that The Labyrinth is not as well known as it should be. Those who know it love it, and those who do not are missing out! The book can be read independently of the movie - I don't recommend that, but it's possible. So for those of you who haven't watched the film: So a GoodReads friend told me a few months ago they were re-releasing The Labyrinth. I couldn't believe it. After finding out years ago it was out of print, searching, finding it for hundreds of dollars I had given up the hope of reading it.

Our first character met on our journey. She hasn't even gotten into the Labyrinth and she is learning lesson two: Not everything is as it seems. I love the added dialogue and getting to know Hoggle a little better.

Table of Contents

Antes de empezar a contaros de que va la novela o cualquier cosa, y antes de que sigáis leyendo estas líneas será mejor que corráis a ver la película homónima protagonizada por David Bowie y Jennifer Connelly porque sino no os vais a enterar absolutamente de nada de lo que os cuente, y es que esta no es una novela al uso. Todos nosotros estamos acostumbrados al orden libro-película, pero en esta ocasión la cosa va al revés. Basada en la película de 1986, Dentro del laberinto nos devuelve a esa película de fantasía que todos (o deberían ser todos) hemos visto de pequeños. Sarah Williams is an eccentric, angsty teenager who can’t relate to her stepmother and resents her baby half-brother, Toby. She has goblins on the brain, having read a play about them, and wishes sarcastically for them to take the baby away. Unfortunately for her, some real goblins hear and obey her request. To reclaim her brother, the chastened girl has to solve the Labyrinth they live in and square off with Jareth, their enigmatic King. But Sarah discovers that Jareth’s plans for her are…not what she expected. Trippy images, unique side characters, and mythological symbolism abound.

It was spot on. I like how A.C.H. Smith went the extra mile and included dialogue in scenes where it's David Bowie singing(for those who don't know, David Bowie is in the movie. If you didn't know...well...where were you?). We even learn a little bit more about Sarah's mother, where the movie didn't touch on. It's perfectly fine to like problematic things, as long as you realise they are problematic, and this is the case. However, the main characters are curiously flat and blank in the novelization. The book emphasizes the adventure and the developing friendship among Sarah's three amigos. The movie is driven by the strong personalities of the man and the girl and the tension between them. I wonder if maybe Smith had to finish this before the leads were cast: he had the puppets ready to base the supporting cast off of, but needed to leave Jareth and Sarah vague to make room for their not-yet-cast actors. I have seen this posted several times. I just adore it. I am keeping it for myself here. Hope you enjoy as much as I do.I recommend the movie itself to anyone with a high tolerance for eeriness. This is not some Tim Burton project where spooky visuals conceal dull characters and pedestrian concepts. We really have wandered into a strange new world here: it combines the spookiness of Victorian/Edwardian kid lit with an Inkling's sense of mystery and, barely concealed beneath, the passion and unbalanced power dynamic of Gothic romance. If you like Peter Pan (the book), you'll like this. If you like Narnia, you'll like this. If you like Jane Eyre or The Phantom Of The Opera or Wuthering Heights, you'll like this. I loved the film, which made this book enjoyable, the archived artwork was also a bonus. I didn't much care for the notes at the end as they were A. unreadable and B. clearly someone's personal notes which perhaps interesting one would need to be Henderson himself to fully understand what he was saying. This is why when the most recent Sarah introduces herself to Hoggle, his response is the cryptic "That's what I thought." I mean Jareth, the character. Sarah is annoyed at having to babysit her brother and wishes him away, wishes he'd be taken by the Goblin King. And Jareth just shows up all sparkly and fabulous, like What I loved in the movie, and what does not come across as well in the book, is that the whole Labyrinth was based on Sarah’s life. The creatures are based on her toys and possessions at home and a lot reflects her attitude towards life (It’s not fair!). But the most vital difference that speaks for the movie is without a doubt the music. The music is magical and the lyrics are so beautiful, fun and memorable that I sometimes recite them at complete random. The majority of the songs are sung by David Bowie who also portrays Jareth. To me, David Bowie represents the Goblin King and the whole fantastic movie. And Jennifer Connelly makes such a beautiful Sarah that it makes me feel jealous, haha.

Anyway, just explaining why I was hesitant to read this one. The person who recommended it promised a proper novel, not just a written description of what happened in the movie.

The book is pretty straight forward, now in situations like this I would say that the book follows the film or visa versa - either way the story would be so mingled (or mangled) that I would not be able to separate them and it would feel one was interfering with the other (missing scenes, differing descriptions and the such like) It's sad, but the first time I saw The Labyrinth , I was sixteen. Seems wrong, doesn't it? My parents had never seen it, so when I first watched it, I made them and my younger sisters watch it with me. Ones with unfair step-mother and unwanted younger sibling. Unable to reason, Jareth kidnaps the babies and the cycle repeats. Only this time, the Sarahs follow. I really could go on but you must watch the movie and read the book or read the book and watch the movie.

She felt everything that used to be so very important to her weighing her down. She began to realize that it was all just junk, that the room that she treasured had become her jail and that she was missing out on the things that truly mattered in life. Even the opening/closing credits song, Bowie's "Underground" features these lyrics that seem likelier from Sarah's POV than Jareth's: "Daddy, Daddy, get me out of here...I'm underground." Sarah never cries for her father, but someone else did: "Then [Persephone] cried out shrilly with her voice, calling upon her father, the Son of Cronos...But no one, either of the deathless gods or of mortal men, heard her voice..." ( Homeric Hymn to Demeter). While the book did clear up some things, there still seems to be something missing from this novelization. I think the songs from the film made so much of an impression on me, so this book didn't completely pull me in the story. Every time I read this book, I couldn't help but wait for the scenes between Jareth and Sarah. I'm basically Sareth trash. IT FEELS SO WRONG YET SO RIGHT.

There were certain things, however, that put me off a bit, such as the unnecessary sexualization of Sarah from a handsy guy in the ballroom scene. Also, the “forced kiss” was another addition which i felt was unnecessary along with Sarah blaming herself for the events afterwards. There is one more notable thing in regards to this tale – although it is more of a personal one. Like many, I am someone who would have loved to have seen Sarah and Jareth together. This book is by no means a romance, and yet it is one of my favourites in that regard. Their scenes together are limited but there is so much chemistry and witty dialogue between them. I have a soft spot for ball and dance scenes and I am certain it was triggered by this film. For this specific scene, the novel has the tension between Sarah and Jareth going for it and the movie the beautiful costumes and music. Now I hardly ever like pure romance stories but I do enjoy it being a part of the story. Give me a beautifully told ballroom dance scene and I will prize it the best romance story out there – regardless of what other things take place around it. With the extras included in this new edition I learned that the movie was not based on the book, but the book was written as a companion to the movie. It is so beautifully similar to the movie. The characters are the same and you get a wonderful peek into their heads as they go about the adventure. For those of you sadly unfamiliar here is a little into to them: ACH Smith on the other hand wrote an amazing novelization that's so rich in language that it would have fared just fine had the movie never existed. Not that I'm saying I don't want the movie to exist. God, why would I do such a stupid thing? I'm just saying, the novelization's really good.