Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3
Read for: TBR challenge, short story challenge

After enjoying Neil Gaiman's other short story collection, Smoke and Mirror, my hopes were perhaps too high and I was a little disappointed with this collection. Just as mysterious, dark and macabre as its predecessor, I found the stories in Fragile Things a little less involving, I just didn't become interested in many of the characters he had created. Although I generally like Gaiman's writing, I felt that I stood apart from most of these stories, they brushed by me without leaving much of an impact. It also felt like these stories had been thrown together with little thought to how they might affect each other, thus I found that they did not blend well, there was no smooth transition.

Having said all that, there were a few stories that stood out:

A Study in Emerald - A Sherlock Holmes-esque tale of mystery and murder in London with a dark side.

The Faery Reel - A short poem that Gaiman himself said, is enormous fun to read aloud.

October in the Chair - Storytelling from the months of the year. An entertaining story within a story.

Going Wodwo - A short exploration of becoming a wild man of the woods.

Bitter Grounds - I really didn't like this story. Well, it creeped me out, which was probably the desired effect! A tale of being lost and found and of things happening for a reason..

Other People - A tale of hell. Loved it! "Time is fluid here".

Harlequin Valentine - Based on a sculpture by artist Lisa Snellings, this is a tale of unrequited love that left me feeling so indescribably sad.

Monarch of the Glen - This was an interesting spin on the tale of Beowulf, but my appreciation of it would certainly have been greater had I previously read Gaiman's American Gods, as it features the main character, Shadow. I enjoyed it nonetheless and it actually made me more interested in reading American Gods.

Perhaps I expected too much from this collection, or they will improve upon revisting them, but it will not deter me from reading more of Gaiman's work.

Other blog reviews:
Melody's Reading Corner

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Rating: 2 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008, RIP Challenge (and a birthday gift!)

A friend of mine is a huge fan of the Dark Tower series and bought the first installment, The Gunslinger, for my birthday last year, and I finally got around to reading it. The Gunslinger is the short introduction to Stephen King's series, described by many as his epic masterpiece. I had high hopes, despite not being a great fan of King, perhaps because my friend had raved about the book so much, and because this series does break away from the author's usual horror genre.

The story revolves around Roland of Gilead, the titular Gunslinger, and his journey to find The Dark Tower, and what it might mean for him and the world. A cross between fantasy and apocalyptic fiction, the story is in a western setting, with gunslingers, deserts, saloons and crazy preachers. We meet the Gunslinger as he is travelling through the desert, hunting the Man in Black, his reasons for this becoming apparent as the story progresses. As Roland's journey continues, the mystery slowly unfolds, as the story and its events get darker and darker. As our Gunslinger catches up with his quarry, he is left with a terrible decision, and though he discovers some answers, he is left with yet more questions.

To my disappointment, I found The Gunslinger quite a struggle. I found the story slow and laborious, with King taking far too much time with his descriptions of the landscape. Even Roland's dreams and memories weren't enough to capture my imagination. I have not read any of King's work since my teenage years, and though I am perhaps more patient now, I am also more critical, and found myself bored very easily. If the story were not so short, I may not have finished it. The ending was beautifully written and the philosophical musings were a welcome touch, and are probably what saved my review from being only 2/5! I am glad that I finished it, though it left me (along with Roland) with a lot more questions. However, I for one did not enjoy this journey enough to read the next chapter in the series, so mystery of The Dark Tower will remain just that.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke

Rating: 4 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008, Short Story Reading Challenge

"Magic, madam, is

like wine and,

if you are not used

to it, it will make

you drunk."

Those of you who have read my blog in the past may have realised that I have fallen head over heels in love with Susanna Clarke's writing. I did not cope well with Dickens at school and to this day have never finished any of his novels. Then I discover Ms Clarke, who writes like a modern day Dickens, and her fabulous book, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. A mysterious journey through the Napoleonic era, following the rivalry of two magicians, and their effect on the fate of English magic. Now one of my favourite novels, and reviewed here, it left me wanting more.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a collection of short stories set in the same world as magic and faery as Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. There are eight stories, each written in the same delectable style, and each delving into a different faery story.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu is perhaps the story most reminiscent of Clarke's first novel, introducing us to a trio of female magicians and their struggle to get accepted by their male counterparts. Jonathan Strange himself makes an appearance in this glorious tale of magic, superstition and vengeful owls.

On Lickerish Hill is the tale of a sly woman who sells her daughter to a nobleman, under the proviso that in the last month of the first year of their marriage, she must spin five skeins of flax every day. The young woman, as cunning as her mother, devises a way to fulfill her husbands demands, by making a deal with a fairy. All she has to do, is discover his name, or her life will be his.

Mrs Mabb is the sad tale of a young woman who loses her love to the mysterious Mrs Mabb. Only her determination can rescue her love.

The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse is an amusing story, set in Gaiman's fictional village of Wall. There in The Seventh Magpie Inn, the Duke of Wellington quarrels with a local villager over a pair of embroidery scissors and is later forced to cross the Wall to retrieve his stallion, released in spite by the angry man. There he discovers a small house where a young woman is embroidering some beautiful images of the Duke's past and possible future. When faced with his own death in gloriously coloured thread, the Duke must take matters into his own hand.

Mr Simonelli or The Fairy Widower, is a series of extracts from the diary of a young Italian man, who takes a position as cleric in a small town, where he has hopes over marrying well and creating a good home for himself. There he encounters a Fairy Widower, only to learn and discover more about his heritage and future destiny.

Tom Brightwind or How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby is the tale of a young Jewish doctor and his fairy friend, travelling to visit a sick patient, when they come upon the poor begotten village of Thoresby. Tom is persuaded to build a fairy bridge across the river with unforeseen results.

Antickes and Frets is the tale of Mary, Queen of Scots, thrown into prison by her cousin, Elizabeth, and who ends up in the care of the Earl of Shrewsbury and his ambitious wife. She soon begins to suspect that the Countess had gotten where she was through dark means in her embroidery. Mary endeavours to use the same means to get rid of her cousin and thus usurp the throne of England.

The final story, John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner, is an amusing tale of a Charcoal Burner (and his pig Blakeman!), whose life is rudely interrupted by the Raven King himself, and who enlists Saints to have his revenge on Uskglass.

Clarke's style is perfect for me. She manages to write about a world so unusual and unfamiliar to us, yet makes it so evocative and believeable that I for one, got completely sucked in. Her writing is a sheer delight to read, and I found myself having to take breaks after each short story, just as I would with a great novel, in order to really digest and enjoy the experience. My fear was that the next story would never be as good, but each was as good as the last.

A fabulous collection by a wonderful author. I cannot recommend these stories enough, and dearly hope that Susanna Clarke writes more very soon.

Other blog reviews:

Rhinoa's Ramblings

Things Mean A Lot

Stainless Steel Droppings

Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3 1/2
Read for: The RIP Challenge, TBR Challenge 2008 and read as an additional book for The Short Story Reading Challenge

First published ten years ago, Smoke and Mirrors is Neil Gaiman’s first full collection of short stories, spanning a good portion of his career. Overall, it is a very dark and compelling collection of stories, many adapted from old fairy tales and classic myths, including Beowulf and the Holy Grail. Gaiman’s writing style is unique, drawing on his experiences as a novelist, graphic novelist, poet and screenwriter. Some of his stories are magical, enticing and very thought-provoking, however, I will be honest, I did zone out for some of them! Smoke and Mirrors is a dark collection, and certainly for adults, as there are some very graphic moments of sex and violence, which may be unsuitable for some readers.

And now for some of my favourite stories:

Chivalry is the tale of an old woman who finds the Holy Grail in a charity shop, only to have a young knight come looking for it. A wonderful start to the collection with this unusual, imaginative but amusing story.

The Price is the story of an ordinary family adopted by a stray cat who is found each and every morning with the most terrible wounds and injuries. Is he fighting another cat, or a fox? Or perhaps his battles are against something far more terrifying..

The Case of the Departure of Miss Finch is an amusing tale of Gaiman and two friends entertaining one of their friends at the circus. There they discover it is important to be careful what you wish for. I loved the imagery at the end of this story, like being transported to another time.

The Daughter of Owls is a short story that reminded me beautifully of the writing of one of my favourite authors, Susanna Clarke and her world of Faerie. Wonderfully creepy.

Babycakes is a short, amusing tale, questioning what humans would do if all the animals one day disappeared. What would we find to eat, to farm, and to test our chemicals on?

Murder Mysteries is perhaps my favourite story. The angels are busy with the creation of the world, in order to complete His vision, when one of their own in found dead. Raguel, the Angel of Vengeance, is called upon to investigate the death and bring vengeance upon those responsible. But nothing is that simple. This is a heartbreaking tale of the angels' destiny, to create our world, but not to understand it or its purpose, and not to be part of it. He has a plan, and it is not for them to know or understand. I am not a religious person, nor do I believe in a God like this, but I was very moved by this tale.

And the final story, Snow, Glass, Apples, the dark and twisted tale of the classic fairy tale Snow White. Written from the point of view of the stepmother, Snow White is far from the innocent young girl I remember from my childhood. Instead she is an evil, sadistic murderess, responsible for the death of her own father. You'll never think of her the same ever again!

An entertaining collection of stories, though sometimes hit and miss, but well worth a read. A fabulous introduction to the writings of Neil Gaiman.

Other blog reviews:
Bold.Blue.Adventure

Have I missed yours?

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

Rating: 4 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008

I saw this film for the first time years ago and absolutely loved it despite being an American remake of a British set novel (which I usually avoid), but apart from the Polysyllabic Spree (which isn't fiction), I still hadn't gotten around to reading a Nick Hornby novel until this past week. I had high expectations, seeing as the film was so good and the book was so highly recommended by my best friend, and I wasn't disappointed.

Rob is the owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in London, and we meet him as his girlfriend, Laura, is moving out of their apartment. The story then follows Rob, as he revaluates his life and loves, specifically his failed relationships. High Fidelity is about life, love and music. It is self-effacing yet brash, modern but unpretentious (for the most part!), gently ironic and reassuring. Love (and life for for that matter) isn't all fireworks and string instruments, it takes work, but sometimes there's nothing that can be done to save it...nor should there be.

I was pleasantly surprised (though I'm not sure why) about how much of the original dialogue in this book actually made it into the film. Huge sections of dialogue were used word for word, despite the characters and setting being slightly altered. I was actually tempted to add some of my favourite dialogue to this review, but found there was so much that I couldn't choose! It was hard at times to not picture the actors from the film while reading this book (which is why I always try to read the book first), as although not what you might always expect, they fitted the characters perfectly, adding just enough while retaining Hornby's essence. The novel does make a lot more sense set in nineties London, but the transition from book to screen does seem to have worked, this time anyway!

Highly enjoyable, though I imagine the protagonist Rob and his record shop cohorts Dick and Barry might be a little ashamed of my music collection! I'm a little out of date, and have little interest in much of the pop and rock that passes the airwaves! I'm a more chilled out singer/songwriter kind of girl, though I do have a soft spot for old eighties hits! I will definitely be adding About a Boy to my reading list.

The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber

Rating: 4 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008

In this hefty tome, Faber introduces us to the seedy, rich and melancholy world of prostitution in Victorian England with his intriguing characters, delicious prose and evocative descriptions of London. Leading us from one character to another, Faber takes his time introducing his protagonist, Sugar, an unusual, intelligent yet fragile prostitute who finds herself a wealthy "benefactor". We follow Sugar as she is torn from the world she knows and thrust into a world of money, order and propriety. Faber gives us tantalising glimpses of the hidden underbelly of Victorian prostitutes and allows us to enjoy Sugar's discovery of her new home, full of sumptuous delights, and dark secrets.

One is never sure quite what to make of Sugar. What is it that makes her so enticing? Does she love the man who has given her everything? Or despise him for being so much in his debt, or for the price that comes with her "rescue"? My heart broke for the utterly bewildered and misunderstood Agnes, and I was moved by the innocent and well-meaning Henry, battling between his desire to join the Church, and his love for a dear friend.

Faber has a knack for getting you to care for the most unexpected characters, only to cruelly and swiftly steal them away. Almost as if we, the reader, did not deserve them, their fate lay elsewhere. He manages to leave the reader wanting more, and his story ended where it began, coming full circle yet leaving so many lives irrevocably changed.

Long this book may be, and worthy of the word "tome", but an excellent read nonetheless, one that draws you into its dark and often tragic world, harbouring both the cruel and the innocent, to tell us their story. I for one look forward to reading Faber's The Apple, to learn more about his characters past and future.

The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel

Rating: 2 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008

The Clan of the Cave Bear is the first in the Earth's Children series, which Auel began back in 1980 and is still writing today. Read for my TBR Challenge.

With a prehistoric setting when Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon man shared the earth, the titular "Clan" are a group of Neanderthal who are searching for a new home after theirs was destroyed by a terrible earthquake. On their journey, the medicine woman, Iza, discovers an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl and cares for her until the girl inadvertantly leads them to a perfectly situated cave. The leader of the Clan is persuaded to let Iza adopt the girl, Ayla, and slowly she is accepted by most of the Clan members.

The story follows Ayla as she is raised by Iza and Creb, the Clan's powerful holy man, as she struggles to assimilate into the Ways of the Clan. However, Ayla is not Clan, and is drawn to many things most of the Clan shy away from, such as open water, and often behaves most unlike a Clan woman, such as learning to hunt. Although seem as good luck by most of the Clan, Ayla makes an enemy of their future leader, Broud, and her transition from child to woman, and woman to medicine woman is fraught with angst and pain.

Although I have been looking forward to reading this series for some time, I was somewhat disheartened that within the first 3 or 4 chapters, I was very ready to give up. I was simply finding it boring and struggled to keep interested in the characters. Auel has done a staggering amount of research and her descriptions of the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon people and their way of life is genuinely astounding, which combined with her creative imagination has led to some really interesting storytelling. However, the drawback was that Auel's descriptive prose was overly long and far too detailed for my enjoyment, often with several pages describing a simple activity. I did persevere with all 587 pages, and found that by the end I had quite enjoyed the experience, after a while (half the book!) becoming quite absorbed in this prehistoric world. The end is left quite open, as usual with such an extended series (five books and counting) and though I do wonder where Auel will take some of her characters, I do not feel particularly inclined to read further. Reviews of the follow ups are varied, and although her work is generally praised, the titles seem to get longer and longer and I truly think my patience would be tried!

So I'm going to call it a day. I'm glad I've finally read this book (I now know what the hype is about!) and will no longer be drawn to this section in bookshops! It has been quite refreshing reading outside the usual realms of fantasy that I find myself in, but I am a little disappointed that the book has not triggered any interest in prehistoric man or the Ice Age, as I had hoped.

The Clan of the Cave Bear most definitely lives up to its "magnificent epic" acclaim, but is a bit too epic for me!

Other blog reviews:
Michelle at In the Louvre
Jeane at Dog Ear Diary

TBR Challenge

So, I've caved and signed myself up to a second challenge, this time in the hope that it will force me to clear some of the backlog of books in my library before I overload it with new goodies! This is the TBR (To Be Read) Challenge, for which 12 books should be selected - one for each month of 2008 - from your "To Be Read" list, preferably which have been there for 6 months or longer. There is also the option to create a list of 12 "Alternates" (books that could be substituted for your challenge books, if not particularly inspired by the original choices). You then have from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2008 to read all 12 books.

Obviously I'm joining this one a little late, so will have to get reading to catch up! Here's my list:

1. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

2. Nocturnes - John Connelly

3. An Instance of the Fingerpost - Ian Pears

4. The Children's Hospital - Chris Adrian

5. The Way of Wyrd - Brian Bates

6. Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean Auel

7. The Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber

8. Endymion Spring - Matthew Skelton

9. The Collector - John Fowles

10. Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman

11. The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke

12. War for the Oaks - Emma Bull

My "alternates" list:

1. Harsh Cry of the Heron - Lian Hearn

2. The Pillars of the World - Anne Bishop

3. The House of Gaian - Anne Bishop

4. Shadows and Light - Anne Bishop

5. Perfume - Patrick Suskind

6. Gilead - Marilynne Robinson

7. The Gunslinger - Stephen King

8. My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell

9. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

10. High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

11. Saturday - Ian McEwan

12. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf