Fragile Things

Master storyteller Neil Gaiman begins this collection by introducing many of the stories, his introduction proving to be a story in its own right. Gaiman's performance aptitude matches his writing ability, as each tale resonates with subtlety and insight. Every character, no matter how brief his or her appearance, receives impeccable attention vocally and textually. And every word of narrative shines. Listeners new to Gaiman will be surprised by the variety of literary genres in this collection, from fairy tales to crime to romance and even science fiction. Gaiman steps nimbly through each, offering a shadow of meaning here, a barely perceptible nuance there, a punch of anger or a featherbed of sweetness where needed, leading his audience through 10 hours of the best listening of the year. R.L.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

October 1, 2006
The 30 short stories and poems in this collection vary widely in theme and tone, from the dark, recursive "Other People" to the witty, R.A. Laffertyesque "Sunbird." Aside from one new tale, "How to Talk to Girls at Parties," all material has been previously published. Gaiman performs admirably as narrator for the most part, changing his style from story to story to better suit the tone of each. However, in the more experimental pieces in the collection, this practice backfires and may leave listeners reaching for the fast-forward button. The poems often work on paper, but when read aloud many feel like disjointed, nonsensical stories. Gaiman is at his best when narrating his more traditional tales, such as the sly and inventive Sherlock Holmes/H.P. Lovecraft pastiche "A Study in Emerald," and the noirish "Keepsakes and Treasures." There are enough terrific stories in the book to make it a must-have for Gaiman fans, but dedicated readers may want to choose the hardcopy edition instead, so as to more easily skip the dross. Simultaneous release with the William Morrow hardcover (Reviews, July 17).

September 1, 2006
This third collection of -short fictions and wonder - (after "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Adventures in the Dream Trade") from the author of "Anansi Boys" ranges from a tale of zombies to a series of meditations inspired by singer Tori Amos's album, "Strange Little Girls". As in his other books, there are fantastical elements. Gaiman follows no overarching theme, but that is what makes these stories charming, at times creepy, and good fun. They read like dreams and meditations, with a stream-of-consciousness quality to their presentation. Gaiman also explains some of the inspiration behind the stories to help put them in perspective. Overall, well worth adding to any collection; highly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ "6/15/06.]" -Anastasia Diamond, Cleveland P.L."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
Adult/High School-In this collection of stories (and a few poems), storytellers and the act of storytelling have prominent roles. The anthropomorphized months of the year swap tales at their annual board meeting: a half-eaten man recounts how he made the acquaintance of his beloved cannibal; and even Scheherazade, surely the greatest storyteller of all, receives a tribute with a poem. The stories are by turns horrifying and fanciful, often blending the two with a little sex, violence, and humor. An introduction offers the genesis of each selection, itself a stealthy way of initiating teens into the art of writing short stories, and to some of the important authors of the genre. Gaiman cites his influences, and readers may readily see the inflection of H. P. Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury in many of the tales. Horror and fantasy are forms of literature wrought with clichés, but Gaiman usually comes up with an interesting new angle. This collection is more poetic and more restrained than Stephen King's short stories and more expertly written than China Mieville's "Looking for Jake" (Ballantine, 2005). Gaiman skips along the edge of many adolescent fascinations-life, death, the living dead, and the occult-and teens with a taste for the weird will enjoy this book"Emma Coleman, Berkeley Public Library, CA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2006
Like the first and second, Gaiman's third collection of unillustrated short pieces (he has comics collections in his portfolio, too) showcases a particular facet of his talent." Smoke and Mirrors" (1998) effervesced with his jovial parody of fairy tales, Raymond Carver, monster movies, " Beowulf" , and even " Bay Watch" . " Adven" tures " in the Dream Trade" (2002) collects various kinds of memoirs on being a professional fantasist. Parody--in the alternate-world Sherlock Holmes pastiche, "A Study in Emerald," and an imaginary last book of the Bible--and memoir (two reprints from " Adventures" and at least one story, "Closing Time," that Gaiman admits is full of real persons and events) also figure in this book, but most of the contents, including the memory pieces, exude the romanticism, often erotic, that makes his first two novels, " Neverwhere" (1997) and " Stardust" (1998), for all their darkness and grit, so powerfully attractive. Many are love stories, ranging in tone from the lowering super-noir of "Keepsakes and Treasures," in which a multibillionaire, abetted by the genius-sociopath narrator, finds and loses his particular " beau ideal" ; to the sf-tinged horror of "How to Talk to Girls at Parties," in which two randy teens crash the wrong bash; to the love-conquers-all rapture of the poem "The Day the Saucers Came"; to the movingly sad triumph over time in the flat-out sf entry, "Goliath." Less loverly but lovelier are such archromantic tidbits as 15 tiny stories for cards from "a vampire tarot," the council of the personified months in "October in the Chair," the bittersweet shape-shifting of the commedia dell'arte-derived "Harlequin Valentine," and all the other poems. One delight after another, 31 in all, with a thirty-second tucked into the author's introduction. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)