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What are readers saying about Fragile Things Short Fictions and Wonders?
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-10 11:15:23.
(Language: English)
 
A lot of good stories. Favorites include A Study in Emerald, Harlequin Valentine, Other People, Disease Maker's Croup, Goliath, Sunbird, and The Monarch of the Glen.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-15 04:56:29.
(Language: English)
There were some very good parts, and some real clunkers. He had some good ideas in there and ran with them the wrong way. Still, it was never actually boring, and even bad Gaiman is better than most other fantasy writers. Still, I approach each of his new books with less excitement.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-26 08:37:18.
(Language: English)
I listened to Fragile Things on audiobook. It is a collection of short fiction and poetry read by the author, Neil Gaiman. I hadn't read much of his work, but loved Stardust. Like any mix of short stories, some were great, others no so great. At first I was dubious that the author would do a better job than an actor, but Neil Gaiman was a great reader. He did different voices for the characters and acted pretty convincingly. I give it a 6 out of 10.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-21 04:13:28.
(Language: English)
Although some of the stories in this collection were too artsy and abstract for my taste (maybe those were the "wonders"), there were enough solid tales to make the collection worth reading. It was great fun to catch up with Shadow from American Gods again, combined with a clever twist on one of Gaiman's screenplays. And any collection that includes 2 works written for Tori Amos is a "must have" to me.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-14 09:46:07.
(Language: English)
After a heavy dose of thinking about real fear, and since I was feeling fragile, I figured this would be a perfect time to read this book. Reality is unpleasant and stark, and often senseless. Fiction, especially Gaiman's unique brand of it, is rich and meaningful and full of purpose. Doctors and psychologists search for the reasons why some people go schizophrenic and live entirely in their own fantasy worlds, but I know why. Fantasy makes so much more sense than reality. It's so much better to believe that some people got rich or famous because of a centuries-old pact with Forces of Darkness than it is to believe that they are more talented, more beautiful, better connected or just luckier than you are. There are, as one would expect, a lot of really good stories in here. And there are some poems, which I kind of skimmed because I'm not really a poetry fan. All that poetry in Lord of the Rings? Skipped it. But the stories are knockouts. A centuries-old gourmet club hunts the rarest bird of all. The twelve months meet to tell stories, and this time it's October's turn. A rich and powerful lord of England's hidden upper class buys the most beautiful boy in the world. A master detective investigates the murder of a monster. And what ever did happen to Susan after The Chronicles of Narnia? It's excellent reading, as one would expect. Go get it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-09 08:17:42.
(Language: English)
A book of short stories can be a mixed blessing. One the one hand, after a long day at work, you can start and finish one story in bed before you fall asleep. And for an author with Gaiman’s scope, a collection allows one to experience a broad range of his interests and talents. Along with the classic short story, you get poems, vignettes, story sets written for pop albums, and more. On the other hand, getting involved in the kind of stories and worlds Gaiman creates takes belief, and belief takes time. Many times I was just starting to get comfortable with the setting and settle into the story, and it was over. I have not read any of his full-length novels, but I got a glimpse of what he can do in them in the longest of his short stories.
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Kelsey posted a review at 2007-11-10 08:59:43.
(Language: English)
I came out with high expectations for Fragile Things after reading Smoke and Mirrors, but I found the latter better overall. This volume seemed much less humorous and more strange/bizzare/disturbing. More horror abounds in Fragile Things, although just a glimpse of it is shown and the rest is left up to the imagination.Probably the best out of the bunch would be A Study in Emerald (a great re-working of Sherlock Holmes), The Fairy Reel, October in the Chair, Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire, Keepsakes and Treasures, Good Boys Deserve Favors, Locks, The Problem of Susan (an interesting look at the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), Harlequin Valentine, Feeders and Eaters, In the End, Goliath, The Day the Saucers Came and finally Sunbird.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-03 01:43:14.
(Language: English)
Neil Gaiman is one of the world's best fantasy/horror writers (although you wouldn't necessarily know it if you watched last year's Stardust - a cute movie but not necessarily the best introduction to Gaiman's work). In this collection of short stories, the author displays his usual fanciful inventiveness, along with his rather dark sense of humour. It's rather like walking into a funhouse mirror and finding another world on the other side - a world that resembles our own in so many ways that it's that much more shocking when you realize that everything is horrificallly twisted. If you have a chance, listen to the audiobook version. Gaiman himself does the reading, and it's absolutely fantastic! Lenny Henry did a great job on the audiobook for Gaiman's Anansi Boys, but Gaiman himself has one of those voices you could listen to endlessly, coupled with a storytelling knack that for many authors just doesn't translate from the written to the spoken word. Highly Recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-30 04:36:15.
(Language: English)
Again, Neil Gaiman's mind works like no other, as clearly displayed by this literary achievement of emotion. Gaiman does not give us the emotions, nor does he describe or pinpoint them, he creates them, fosters them, and grows them in their own indescribable way. I cannot express the strange feeling this book leaves with you after every reading, whether it be a page or the entire novel; This is not a book, it is a life experience. Filled with life more real than yours, the book is perfect and whole in itself like a portal to a new unexplored world. No rating or review can express it well enough. READ. THIS. BOOK.
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Justine posted a review at 2011-12-13 05:59:36.
(Language: English)
Not what I had hoped for, and certainly pales in comparison to Neverwhere. Found this very hard to read - in terms on not being able to capture my sustained attention/interest. Didn't finish.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-09 10:48:59.
(Language: English)
I'm a hardcore fan of Neil, and have adored his other short stories. I feel they're his best work. That being said, I was disappointed with this book in a big way. This book contained some real gems, many of them which can be found in other short story collections. The real stand-out stories were A Study in Emerald, which is one of the best Cthulhu mythos stories I've read in ages, the hilarious Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire, the intriguing prose poem Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot, the downright trippy love/ghost story Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky (Neil sure loves his long titles), Harlequin Valentine (which I understand has been turned into a graphic novel format), How to Talk to Girls at Parties and Sunbird. However, though this is a long list, the book's contents are far more extensive, containing close to 30 stories and poems. I'm sad to say, though, that besides these few, many of the other stories feel tedious, unfinished, or simply not up to par with the stories from Smoke and Mirrors, which is one of my favorite books of Neil's. A lot of the first half of the book is taken up with stories that are clearly drawn from Neil's own life experiences, but, unlike a tale like Mr. Punch, which felt authentic while weaving a fascinating story around real life happenings, most of these feel like a concept in search of an ending, as virtually none of them end with a real conclusion, as something that could be found in real life would. While there's no arguing life doesn't always have nice neat endings, we love Neil because he can weave these wonderful, fascinating stories that feel so significant, capturing the imagination in a way that's just so Neil. Sadly, many of the stories, like Miss Finch or Good Boys Deserve Favors, seem to not so much end as trail off. Even his more fantastical stories in the collection suffer this tragic lack of satisfying ending. The Problem of Susan, an interesting post-modern take on the Narnia series, seems to be building to something but then, literally, dies short of a strong ending. Even Monarch of the Glen, a novella based on American Gods which I'd read previously in another collection, felt disappointingly lacking in the originality and depth of its parent work. It's worth a read for any Neil fan, but the large majority of works in this piece just don't seem up to par. Go read Anansi Boys, that'll reaffirm your faith in Neil, I promise.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-04 09:38:06.
(Language: English)
Rated the book "It was amazing" simply because of the very last short story "The Monarch of the Glen" featuring the return of Shadow, one of my all-time favourite creations of Neil Gaiman. There were a couple of good short stories here and there but that last one definitely takes the cake.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-07 08:22:05.
(Language: English)
Neil Gaiman has a way of writing short stories. They seem normal at first, but there's always a subtle supernatural or fantastic twist put into it to shake things up. It's so refreshing and original. Gaiman is one of the few writers whose entire catalogue I could read over and over again. This contains some of my favorite short stories of his, like "October in the Chair", "Closing Time", "Harlequin Valentine", and "Strange Little Girls". Highly recommended.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-04 03:13:38.
(Language: English)
Neil Gaiman does not fail to impress with his creativity and genius. The short stories range from one page to nine chapters. Some stories are straight hilarious, some make you think, and some just leave you feeling a bit strange. A good read all the way through.PS I recommend reading his foreword explaining what was going on in his life while he wrote the stories. Makes one appreciate them all the more.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-05 06:20:00.
(Language: English)
A brilliant collection of short stories and not at all what I expected. Especially the the poems inspired me. Some stories really gave me the creeps. Though not all of the stories convinced me, the ones that did are some of the best I ever read. Neil Gaiman has the wonderful ability to draw you into his story and kicks you over the rim. The next moment you find yourself grabbing for hold - sitting on the bus on your way to work.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-25 08:52:54.
(Language: English)
hoping for another "wild ride"
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-10 05:07:46.
(Language: English)
The second major collection of short stories from Neil Gaiman. Personally I found the first set (Smoke and Mirrors) more memorable. That may have been a little to do with the fact that it was my introduction into Neil's literature however. This collection is a more structured collection than the first, although slightly less inventive. Stand out stories for me is the follow to American Gods, the HG Wells/Conan Doyle style story, the Matrix companion piece (yes the movie Matrix) and the short story about how to talk to girls. At parties. I'd encourage anyone to pick up this collection as their introduction into something weird. Read the whole thing or read a selection. There's bound to be something in here to fire the imagination.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-13 12:44:41.
(Language: English)
It's got some great stories but is too inconsistent overall to deserve 4 stars. The standout stories were - "A Study in Emerald", a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, "Feeders and Eaters", a disturbing story on, well, feeding and the best story of the lot "Closing Time", an eerie childhood story that keeps just enough under wraps to let our imagination do the job of scaring us.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-12 09:29:49.
(Language: English)
i love love love neil gaiman, don't get me wrong. but this collection of short stories was just a little bit too... well, neil being neil. maybe the problem was that i tried reading them all at once, in order, from cover to cover. but they seemed to get progressively more infuriating as i went along, because none of them really have any sort of story arc or conclusion of any sort. they're all just stuff that happens to an insteresting character. mostly stuff which is rather obscure and veiled in mystery. really, by the time i got 3/4 of the way through (i haven't yet been able to finish) i was screaming for a climax of any sort. i think in a few months, i'll go back and start again, but this time limit myself to one story at a time between other, more traditionally plotted books.
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Linda posted a review at 2009-09-12 03:39:25.
(Language: English)
I have only discovered Gaiman recently, definitely because of the Author, Author group. I read Coraline and The Graveyard Book both of which I loved, and I am now working my way through his back catalog. Fragile Things is a collection of short stories and poems. I am not a huge fan of the short story, because I always find I want more than I get and often resent the ending to the story as I have just begun to get into the rhythm of the story. This collection was a very mixed bag, so I really liked several of the tales and others were just okay. Because the two previous books I read were children’s books I was a little surprised by the language and some of the sex scenes, but it’s just because I wasn’t expecting it. I would have to say my favorite story was October in the Chair, where the months of the year have a sort of board meeting, and one month gets to tell a story. I would have loved to hear each month’s story. I also really liked The Monarch of the Glen which featured an enigmatic character named Shadow; I’d really like to read something more substantial featuring this character. The few poems were lovely and because I listened to this on audio there is always the added bonus of Neil Gaiman’s beautiful voice. Overall this was an interesting if not great collection of horror/fantasy/sci-fi tales. And now I will be moving onto Anansai Boys.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-02 08:21:02.
(Language: English)
<3 <3 <3 Boy did I miss Shadow!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-28 02:48:09.
(Language: English)
Love this book. Wonderful stories.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-29 06:43:15.
(Language: English)
I have a love/hate relationship with Neil Gaiman. Some of his works I adore while others I dislike intensly. This collection of short stories is a perfect example.Certain stories were wholly absorbing while others (well one in particular) left me feeling physically ill.Don't think its necessarily a bad thing because a truly good writer should be able to generate a wide range of emotion in the reader.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-11-17 10:44:27.
(Language: English)
one of my favourites.. amazing book
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