Fragile Things

by Neil Gaiman

This man has imagination!

I have enjoyed Neil Gaiman's fiction tremendously--not such a big fan of his graphic novels, but I think that's because I had to be so damned CAREFUL while reading the Sandman (belonged to a friend of mine who would've killed me if there were food crumbs, hair, or fingerprints on the pages).

Loved Neverwhere, Stardust, Anansi Boys, Good Omens (which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett)...and I loved this collection as well. (Short story collections are great for mothers of young children: you can actually finish an entire work in 20 minutes or less!)

Confession, though: I skipped over his poetry. I find I have to be in a "mood" to read poetry of any kind and wasn't so inspired during the 5 weeks I had this from the library.

Among my favorites in this collection are

A Study In Emerald: great for fans of Sherlock Holmes, and non-fans too!

Keepsakes and Memories: sick, and sad.

The Problem of Susan: personally the most disturbing story; inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia.

Goliath: if you're a Matrix fan you've probably read this on the website. I'd never heard about Gaiman's tie-up with the Matrix before reading his introduction in this volume. This story is lovely.

Fifteen Painted CArds from a Vampire Tarot: very clever; can't wait for him to finish the Major Arcana!

All in all, I recommend this book unabashedly--you will be entertained, for sure, even if you are disconcerted by most of his writing (especially if you haven't read a lot of his stuff!).