Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders

This is a captivating collection of short stories, verse, and excerpts, which I enjoyed very much.

Leading the way is A Study in Emerald, a creative revision of a classic Sherlock Holmes story that impressed me with its inventiveness. Indeed, there is not a boring story in this collection. There is another narrative that is an homage to an earlier fantasy called The Problem of Susan, which raises a good question about The Narnian Chronicles. Another tale titled, How to Talk to Girls at Parties, is memorable for being hilarious, in my opinion. It's basically about a young teenager who is nervous around girls before going to a party. His more experienced friend assures him that girls are not so different, not aliens. We'll see about that...This story was new to me. Evidently, it's been made into a film. On the other end of the spectrum, a narrative called Other People stands out for being particularly disturbing.

It's hard to give one rating to a collection of work, but I genuinely admired all the work in this one.

Bravo!

Neil Gaiman continues to amaze me with his stories. Overall, I very much enjoyed this collection of "fragile things." I particularly enjoyed "A Study in Emerald," "October in the Chair" (notwithstanding my birthmonth), "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless," "Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox" (reminded me in a way of Stephen King's "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"), "Sunbird" and "The Monarch of the Glen" (a sequel to [b:American Gods|4407|American Gods|Neil Gaiman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg|1970226]).

I would've rated it a five based on those stories alone, but there were a few other stories that didn't quite work for me. "The Problem of Susan" is, well, problematic, not in the idea (which I think is a worthy one) but the execution. There was an awkwardness to the grit of "Keepsakes and Treasures." Some of the poems, like "The Day the Saucers Came," seemed a bit throwaway.

But overall, a good collection. Anyone who already enjoys Gaiman should find a lot in this book to sustain their opinion. And those who aren't that familiar with his work will probably find a few pleasant nuggets as well.

A splendid collection from one of my authors. Will give mini-synopses/reviews of the stories.

A Study in Emerald - Wow! I don't know if I've ever read a better short story in my life. Written for an anthology of stories where the world of Sherlock Holmes meets the world of H.P. Lovecraft, Gaiman's take gives The Ancient Ones the sanity-crumbling horror I'm used to and gives Holmes the brilliant see-everything-at-once deductive skills that we expect. A best-of-both-worlds story that's scary, thrilling, and surprising.

The Fairy Reel -

October in the Chair

The Hidden Chamber

Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire

The Flints of Memory Lane

Closing Time

Going Wodwo

Bitter Grounds

Other People

Keepsakes and Treasures

Good Boys Deserve Favors

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch

Strange Little Girls

Harlequin Valentine

Locks

The Problem of Susan

Instructions

How Do You Think It Feels?

My Life

Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot

Feeders and Eaters

Diseasemaker's Croup

In the End

Goliath

Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Louisville, Kentucky

How to Talk to Girls at Parties

The Day the Saucers Came

Sunbird

Inventing Aladdin

The Monarch of the Glen

Neil Gaiman is an amazing storyteller, and this collection of short stories highlights some of his most interesting work. Unfortunately it wasn’t all his strongest. Like most collections of short works it had its good and its bad. I’d hoped for less bad from Gaiman.

The Good
The poem “The Day the Saucers Came” seems to have become an instant classic, and for good reason.
Sunbird was a really interesting phoenix story.
A Study in Emerald was my personal favorite of the whole volume. It was a great start to the book...
Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky was interesting and I think hit the mark just right.
The Problem of Susan was wonderfully meta!

The So-So
Monarch of the Glens was good, but long. I know that Gaiman sometimes takes a while to get where he’s going, but it just didn’t do it for me, at least not as part of this collection, and not as the last story in the book!
How to Talk to Girls at Parties was cute, and I liked the idea... but it just didn’t work for me.

The Bad
Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot
October in the Chair
The poems

I think the biggest issue with this collection is that is isn’t coherent. It never comes together, which is a shame. Another reviewer described it as a mix tape rather than an album, and I think that is a perfect analogy.