I actually finished this book about 2 weeks ago, but I was too lazy to post it here for some reason. I’m not really sure why, since obviously I haven’t been a blog slacker in general. It’s also not because of a lack of enthusiasm for this novel. Quite the contrary, to be honest. Unlike my last experience with Gaiman, this time I was thoroughly engrossed by what I was reading.
Fragile Things is a collection of Gaiman’s short stories and poetry, all well-written, well-conceived, thoroughly British (even when pretending to be American), and thoroughly enjoyable. There’s something so delightfully concentrated about tales told in the short-story format. Plus, this is the perfect sorbet for those who like a little variety in their reading matter, especially if you typically tackle tightly packed tomes brimming over with lots of brain-stretching information and ideas. Pick up this collection and fall into all variety of worlds, each one dark but different, sometimes humorous, tragic, but more often than not a bit on the creepy side.
True, there is a bit of an uneven gait to this collection, but I think that’s more the fault of the range of stories. This was Gaiman gathering together works that he had written for all variety of outlets, including other short story collections and contests as well as a story he wrote for The Matrix universe and vignettes he wrote for his BFF, Tori Amos.
[Seriously, that has to be one of the strangest friendships in the history of the world. I’d love to be the fly on the wall of one of those get-togethers. Of course, their distinctive strangeness could all be for show for the public, and IRL they could be the most boring, non-unique people ever. I highly doubt that, but, hey, it could happen.]
Other stories include a tale featuring Shadow, a character from Gaiman’s novel American Gods, a tale about vampirism that’s even creepier than most, a couple of cautionary tales directed toward childhood and teendom, as well as a story about a “Sunbird” that he wrote as a birthday present for one of his daughters. It’s quite a mix-up of tales that don’t necessarily dove-tail in any particular way, which might put off some readers. However, if you’re looking for some quick and easy (although most definitely not “light”) reads that fit your dark and quirky reading tastes, then you might want to give this collection a try. I’m positive anyone who is a Gaiman fan will find something inside suited to their liking.
Final Verdict: This is another one of those damned library books, so I don’t get the option of keeping this one…which I most definitely would if it was mine. Thank goodness for wishlists to keep tabs on those books that simply must become a permanent part of the Loba Library.
