false 16788 23 <p> A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . . </p> <p> In a novella set two years after the events of <i>American Gods</i>, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . . </p> <p> In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . . </p> <p> Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams&#8212;and nightmares . . . </p> <p> In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . . </p> <p> Such marvelous creations and more&#8212;including a short story set in the world of <i>The Matrix</i>, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction&#8212;can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, <i>Fragile Things</i> is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time. </p> The following stories are contained in this collection: 1) An introduction where Gaiman details some background on each of the stories, and includes a short-short story on its own as well (titled "The Mapmaker") 2) A Study in Emerald 3) The Fairy Reel (poem) 4) October in the Chair 5) The Hidden Chamber 6) Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire 7) The Flints of Memory Lane 8) Closing Time 9) Going Wodwo (poem) 10) Bitter Grounds 11) Other People 12) Keepsakes and Treasures 13) Good Boys Deserve Favors 14) The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch 15) Strange Little Girls 16) Harlequin Valentine 17) Locks 18) The Problem of Susan 19) Instructions 20) How Do You Think It Feels? 21) My Life 22) Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot 23) Feeders and Eaters 24) Diseasemaker's Croup 25) In the End 26) Goliath 27) Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a Greyhound Bus Somewhere Between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Louisville, Kentucky 28) How to Talk to Girls at Parties 29) The Day the Saucers Came 30) Sunbird 31) Inventing Aladdin 32) The Monarch of the Glen 3262727 book 1 10 2006 Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders total:5592|5:1539|4:2476|3:1303|2:230|1:44| 5592 22012 8179 641 3 4 false false Thu Jan 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 22 16:32:08 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 19 08:37:47 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 18:10:23 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 18:26:47 -0800 2009 one
Because it is an book of incidentals as well as short fiction, it's rather uneven.

But I still give it five stars, because I love updatings of the fairy tale, and Gaiman is clearly one of the most gifted writers on the planet when it comes to doing this. ...more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Dec 01 09:39:20 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 10:00:04 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jan 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 21:06:06 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 05:49:57 -0800 2009
I'd rather not dwell on the negatives, so briefly, here are the stories I didn't like: "Other People" and "...more...]]> 3 2 false false Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Feb 16 16:34:12 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 24 18:47:23 -0700 2008 Not only for his exceptional contribution to literature, and the arts in general, over the last few years.
But for this reason: Reading "Fragile Things" has confirmed one of my greatest fears.

I don't like short story compilations.
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"October in the Chair" is downright spooky, with one of the most unnerving endings, ever. And of course, "The Monarch of...more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 08:24:01 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 14 08:35:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 21 12:43:31 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 12:44:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 19 09:39:06 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 09:53:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 19:57:15 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 19:57:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jun 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 06:23:27 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 06:23:38 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true false Thu Jan 22 07:05:53 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 09:02:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 16:58:58 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 09:37:04 -0700 2009
I love Gaiman's ability to combine the ethereal and the earthy into stories t...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 29 14:58:19 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 22 13:59:09 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 06:49:03 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 06:53:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 06:50:20 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 09:39:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 02:26:44 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 22:33:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 08:55:47 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 16:38:29 -0800 2009 The astute among you will note that I have, in fact, already reviewed Fragile Things some time ago. However, thanks to murphyslaw’s immense generosity, I got to listen to the book on audio, read by the Gaiman himself. So I thought I’d share a few thoughts about it.

First of all,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 20:07:22 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 29 05:14:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 20:21:03 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 03:37:53 -0700 2009
These stories/poetry were pretty dark. But then it's been a while since I read any Gaiman, so maybe I've just forgotten how dark he can be. I would really put this on a dark fantasy/horror lite shelf, but that's fine by m...more...]]>