M Is for Magic

by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author)

book data

880 ratings, 3.80 average rating, 169 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		20%
4		45%
3		28%
2		4%
1		1%

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published

July 1st 2007 by HarperCollins

binding

Hardcover, 260 pages

isbn

0061186422 (isbn13: 9780061186424)

description

Stories to delight, enchant, and surprise you.

Bestselling author and master storyteller Neil Gaiman here presents a breathtaking collection of tal

...more

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12/20/07

Kurtis rated it:

Read in October, 2007

M is for Magic is a new collection of stories, but not a collection of new stories. Gaiman explains the premise (and the title) in the introduction–he’s riffing on two volumes of Ray Bradbury’s stories, R is for Rocket and S is for Space, which were collected for young adults. The ten stories here are also selected (from Gaiman’s other anthologies, etc.) because of their interest to children, and several have children in them. Others may interest young readers for their humor, the play o...more M is for Magic is a new collection of stories, but not a collection of new stories. Gaiman explains the premise (and the title) in the introduction–he’s riffing on two volumes of Ray Bradbury’s stories, R is for Rocket and S is for Space, which were collected for young adults. The ten stories here are also selected (from Gaiman’s other anthologies, etc.) because of their interest to children, and several have children in them. Others may interest young readers for their humor, the play on classic fairy tales and legends, or because they involve animals.

It is not a collection entirely of scary stories, although six are nice Halloween reads. My favorite is "The Price," an Irvingesque chiller featuring a house cat that looks like a miniature panther. We call our own stout black cat a little panther, although I’m not sure ours is up to the challenges met by Gaiman’s feline hero in this poignant story. Another favorite is the haunting "Toll Bridge." The conclusion of this story has been bouncing around in my head since I read it — not because "how it ends," is so unexpected, but because of a few casual adjectives that add dimensions of meaning and mystery to the entire tale. I’m convinced, if I wasn’t before, that Gaiman is a first-rate mythmaker along the lines of Hawthorne and Poe.

Other stories feature ghosts, witches, and unknown horrors that lurk behind closed doors, hinted at but never seen by the narrator or reader. Stine’s stories to put the grisly outcome just beyond the conclusion, but here the reader isn’t just left to visualize the carnage, but to puzzle out what might have happened between the lines. What, exactly, did the jack-in-the-box tell the children? We wonder. What was wrong with the pretty girl that Vic sneaked off with? What was in the basement of the old farm house? Gaiman is particularly deft at this trick. It’s not a lady-or-the-tiger paradox, as in the unresolved story by Frank Stockton. Gaiman gives us a third door, and only the most cryptic clues about what may lay beyond it.

The other four stories tend more to the funny than the frightening, including a mashup of Chandler/Hammet-style mystery story with nursery rhymes, a classic confidence trick story, a curious tale about a club of adventuresome eaters setting out to taste a very rare kind of fowl, and a story that opens with a spectacular use of semicolon: "Mrs. Whitaker found the Holy Grail; it was under a fur coat." If brilliant openings like this don’t save the beleaguered punctuation mark from obsolescence, I don’t know what will. In general, I found the scary stories a bit more sublime than the silly, but all are precisely written, well polished narratives by a guy who flat out knows what he’s doing. Anybody who wants to write short fiction should read this book and take notes.

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02/25/09

SomePig rated it:

Read in March, 2009

The problem with assigning a star rating to this book is that, like any book of short stories, it is a mixed bag. Especially considering that this particular book of stories is by Neil Gaiman who can pen novles that are original enough that the only resemblance they bear to one another is the name on the front cover.

What I gather from this book (intended for a YA audience) is that Gaiman allows himself to get more experimental with stories than perhaps with his novel. As always, th...more

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2 comments

01/28/09

Luann rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, fairy-tales, fantasy, gr-authors, mystery, shelf-a-thon1, short-stories, young-adult

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2009

On the whole these were nice enough stories - some stranger than others. None of them were incredibly memorable, but none of them were incredibly horrible, either.

My favorite short story in this collection was Chivalry, followed by How to Sell the Ponti Bridge. My least favorite was Sunbird - the one with the Epicurean Club.

I was interested that the first three stories each had a character named Jack. I thought the trend might continue throughout the book, but it did...more

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4 comments

12/30/08

Patricia rated it:

bookshelves: children

Read in September, 2008

Neil Gaiman... short stories... how can this miss? The shorts are a pleasure to read, and each individually memorable. The woman who buys the holy grail at the thrift shop? Charming.

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04/09/09

Verkisto rated it:

Ever have those days where you put on an old jacket from last winter, and find a $20 bill in the pocket? That’s how I felt when I first heard about M Is for Magic. I didn’t know that Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out, much less that he had pulled a Ray Bradbury by picking some of his stories appropriate for younger audiences, and packaging them together under a new title. Shoot, he even acknowledges Bradbury in the introduction and in “October in the Chair,” so it’s no surprise tha...more Ever have those days where you put on an old jacket from last winter, and find a $20 bill in the pocket? That’s how I felt when I first heard about M Is for Magic. I didn’t know that Neil Gaiman had a new book coming out, much less that he had pulled a Ray Bradbury by picking some of his stories appropriate for younger audiences, and packaging them together under a new title. Shoot, he even acknowledges Bradbury in the introduction and in “October in the Chair,” so it’s no surprise that he even adopted Bradbury’s old title format for the collection. Bradbury had R Is for Rocket and S Is for Space, and now we’ve covered the Ms, as well.

So, the reality is that if you’re a hardcore Gaiman fanboy, then you’ve read most all of these stories. There’s only one story here that’s an “exclusive” (”The Witch’s Headstone,” a wonderful romp that’s reminiscent of Jonathan Carroll’s early stuff), but I believe it’s going to see print in a future publication, anyway. The good news is that this is a lot like a “greatest hits” for Gaiman. “Chivalry,” possibly the best short work of fiction published last century, is there, as is “Troll Bridge” (which shows the darker side of growing up) and “The Price” (an even darker look at our pets and what they do for us), along with a newer “classic,” “How to Talk to Girls at Parties” (an odd science fiction story that probably owes a small debt to Harlan Ellison).

Like any short story collection, there are a few misses here, including “The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds,” but the premises and ideas behind the stories make up for what they lack in punch. Even Neil Gaiman can’t be on all the time, but even when he’s just puttering along, there’s much more going on to keep your interest than just the presentation. The story itself should keep you reading. Besides, as I’ve mentioned before, mediocre Neil Gaiman is definitely better than the best of some other authors I’ve read.

So, there may not be anything new here, and it may not all represent the best stuff that Gaiman has written, but M Is for Magic is a great introduction to a wonderful author. That it’s been released just in time for you to pick the collection up for the young reader in your family for Christmas isn’t, I doubt, a coincidence. Besides, if you haven’t read “Chivalry” yet, then your life isn’t quite yet complete.(less)

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06/18/09

Julie H. rated it:

bookshelves: short-stories

Like a magical little gift, I found this on the shelf last night while wandering around looking for something to read. (I'd somehow miraculously managed to make it through the library stack before today's due date.) Got a couple of stories in before nodding off--these are wonderful and it was a hoot that lying next to me is Alan reading The Big Over Easy as the first one is a Raymond Chandleresque story investigating Humpty Dumpty's untimely demise. Ah, the classic Richard Thompson question, ...more

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10/28/07

Lia rated it:

bookshelves: owned

Read in October, 2007

While blushing at what my mother would think of some of the content in this "book for children", I am thoroughly enjoying it (of course - it's Gaiman). I might wait till my kids are a bit older than 8 & 9 before handing it to them... or else I'll have some 'splainin' to do as they read. =)

BTW, loved the intro, where Gaiman talks about Bradbury & stuff. =)

Also, I recommend keeping your mother out of your head at most times, but especially when reading! Haha!

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04/12/09

Purplycookie rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, short-stories, young-adult

Read in April, 2008

Featuring a collection of Gaiman's short stories intended for children that's meant to either amuse or give you goose bumps :)

I agree with Gaiman that in as much as people love reading novels, it is another kind of ride that a short story offers us. A novel provides one with a long journey, more time to get to know the various characters; whereas with a short story the travel time may be short-lived but is an enjoyable ride all the same. You can read a short story from start to finis...more

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02/27/09

Djrmel rated it:

bookshelves: audiobook, fantasy, horror, short-stories, young-adult

Read in July, 2008

Audiobook read by the author - A collection of short stories by Gaiman that have all been published previously, this time collected with the Young Adult reader (listener) in mind. There's a definite building of story depth as you progress through this book, from the beginning "The Case Of The Four And Twenty Blackbirds", a noir crime fiction using some of the best known names in nursery rhymes, to the final "The Witch's Headstone" that brings together all sorts of dark magic...more

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01/17/09

Ako rated it:

I found it hard to enjoy a collection of things. That's why, for example, I never bought soundtrack albums, which collected a number of different artists donating their one popular song. Nor any greatest hits albums.

Then one day I have to travel, so I take this book by Neil Gaiman, the only Gaiman's book left unread in my bookshelf. It's a collection of 11 stories, varied from fairy tales, creepy ones (it's not good for my fear of local-aircraft-company's-flight, btw), mythology, and...more

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07/02/08

Suzanne rated it:

Gaiman, as usual, tells a wondrous story.

Our favorite was about a little old lady who just happens to come across the Holy Grail in a bring-and-buy shop. Delightful!

However, being marketed as a book for young readers, i thought some of the stories contained some overly adult themes.

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05/19/09

Philip rated it:

bookshelves: ya-short-stories, young-adult

Read in June, 2009

Clive Barker tells us "Gaiman is a star," but he sure is not shining in this book. Granted, some of the stories are entertaining. I especially liked Sunbird, the tale about the Epicurean club that had sampled every taste imaginable and have nothing left to try. I also thoroughly enjoyed The Witches Headstone which Gaiman introduces as, "...a story that will be part of my next children's book, The Graveyard Book, about a boy who lives in a graveyard and is brought up by dead pe...more

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05/21/09

Christian rated it:

bookshelves: abandoned, fantasy

Read in May, 2009

In the introduction to this short story collection, Gaiman writes that the good thing about short stories is that if you don't like the one you are reading, well, its short and over quickly and another will be along shortly.

I kept waiting for the good one. I think I read 80% of this before I realized I just couldn't take it.

The book is marketed towards "Young Adults" but I would be hard pressed to find anyone that I would consider the target audience. Unecessa...more

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02/24/09

Andrea rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, fantasy, own, youngadult-children

Read in February, 2009

There were only two stories in this book that I hadn't read in the author's other short story collections. (I guess I should've looked at the table of contents before buying it.) Still, I enjoyed rereading some of my favorite Neil Gaiman stories.

It's a little unusual for a book aimed at young readers because in many of the stories, the protagonists aren't children or young adults, but to say that young people wouldn't understand or enjoy the stories would be selling young readers sh...more

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11/29/08

Relyn rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Relyn by: I read everything Neil Gaiman writers
recommends it for: Neil Gaiman fans and children everywhere

This is a wonderful sampling of Neil Gaiman's work. Just wonderful. His poem Instructions is incredible; perfect for a girl who spent her childhood reading and dreaming of fairy tales. I just love Neil Gaiman. He has written some other wonderful stories for children, including Coraline. Talk about a must-read. Really, it is a must-listen. Note, several of the stories in this collection are slightly creepy. You might want to preview it before reading to younger children. The same goes fo...more

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05/02/09

Snorkle rated it:

bookshelves: read-2009, young-adult

Read in May, 2009

There were a couple stories that I just plain did not get. Other stories were just a tad bit too creepy or weird for my liking. But there were a couple that I enjoyed reading or thought were clever, and that is why it got this rating. I especially loved the story, "Chivalry" and thought the first and last lines of the story were superb. I also liked "Instructions." I would be a tad bit wary of recommending this book to younger teens, for there was some questionable conte...more

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12/28/08

Tita rated it:

(review of isbn 0747595682)

Read in December, 2008

This book mainly contains short stories that have been published in other short stories collection by Neil Gaiman, Smoke Mirrors and Fragile Things, and even a fragment from The Graveyard Book. There are only two stories left in this book that I haven't read, so I am glad to finally have the book in my hands (thanks to my cousin who lends it to me) and quench my curiosity. Later, when time permits...
So far, these stars are for the rest of the stories that I've read before. They are witt...more

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11/17/08

Nely rated it:

Read in February, 2009

In this collection, we have a variety of short stories that go from funny, to creepy, to fascinatingly clever. Although M is for Magic is aimed at the YA audience I guarantee these stories are great for any adult to enjoy.

Here’s an overview of the stories:

The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Little Jack Horner is hired to solve the mystery behind the death of Humpty Dumpty. - I personally loved this one. Detective stories always suck me in.

...more

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09/29/08

Steven rated it:

Read in October, 2008

recommends it for: Young and old alike

Neil Gaiman is a fun guy to spend time with. Whether it's a collection of short pieces and oddments, like this one, or one of his novels, you know what to look forward to: imaginative, well constructed prose, vivid detail, and above all, a sense of impending magic and wonder around every turn that only comes from someone who knows, effortlessly, what it is to be young at heart. This is simple, poignant stuff, not Gaiman at his best, maybe...that would be the Sandman comics, Neverwhere, or possib...more

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09/07/08

Kazima H.S. rated it:

(review of isbn 0747595682)

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: children of all ages from 0 to 100!

When I first started reading this book, I think I had a little too high expectations. On the other hand maybe not all the stories are that good and the order they came in was a poor choice by the editor.

Anyway, the first couple of stories (The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds, Don't Tell Jack, How To Sell the Ponti Bridge) just didn't reach me. They seemed awkward and forced. At times they almost seemed put together like an ad-lib: enter made up word here, silly name here, make...more

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"Stories you read when you're the right age never quite leave you. You may forget who wrote them or what the story was called. Sometimes you'll forget precisely what happened, but if a story touches you it will stay with you, haunting the places in your mind that you rarely ever visit." More quotes...