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Fragile Things
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Gaiman, Neil - Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders - Informal Buddy Read - Start Date May 12, 2014
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When is this starting? I started the book a few days ago.
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~LK
I'm curious to see everyone's reactions to this one. It's not my favorite by Neil, but there are some very cool (and creepy!) stories included.
I'm in, too. I started this book yesterday.
I've read parts of this collection before, but not recently, and I've never read the whole thing.I'm listening to the audio version, which is read by Neil Gaiman, and I really like the way he reads. I recommend listening to the audio if you can. However, the first story is really complicated and I had to stop listening to the audio and switch to text so I could slow down and follow it properly. (The pdf of "A Study in Emerald" is available for free from Neil Gaiman's website.) It's really creepy; my mind was blown. (view spoiler)
I thought I'd post a link to the solution if anyone's interested.
So far I also really like the Bluebeard poem. The frame story in "October in the Chair" is pretty funny. I'll post again later.
I just read "Closing Time" and . . . I don't think I understood what happened. Anyone else want to comment on this one?
"Feeders and Eaters" is truly disturbing. The matter-of-fact tone is done perfectly, which just makes it worse."Diseasemaker's Croup" is a neat concept. I thought this story was pretty funny.
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Somehow this one fell of my radar. I will be starting it in the next day or so :)
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Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado
(last edited May 21, 2014 12:27AM)
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A Study in Emerald - I quite liked this 'Sherlock Holmes' type story. I'd like to see it made into a book ;)
October in the Chair - Felt very much like the "Graveyard Book" and I just read something on wiki that said it was a dry run for that book. I quite liked it. In particular the homage to Ray Bradbury at the end was quite nifty
Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire - totally confused by this one. I need to research it a bit to see what on earth was going on! (~edit: I found a good explanation here if anyone else is interested
Loving the poems in between the stories too
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I just went googling this too! I liked this take on it:
http://ambiguities.wordpress.com/2008...
I hadn't fully understood the story "Closing Time", so thank you Karen. I liked instead very much the story of "Sherlock Holmes" (view spoiler) and "October in the Chair", very creepy. The story "Bitter Grounds" seems a little confused, but a second reading it's required to fully iunderstand.Unfortunately, the poems aren't my prefered part.
Thanks for the link about "Closing Time."I'm also not clear on why Goliath (view spoiler) was called that. I know the reference but I'm not sure what David and Goliath have to do with this story??
I finished the audiobook yesterday.
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Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado
(last edited May 22, 2014 01:42AM)
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No problems Beth.
I agree about "Bitter Grounds", Andrew. I went back and read the start again when I had finished.
I loved "Other People". I guess this one would mean different things to everyone, but to me it was about how our own worst enemy with pain/guilt/shame is ourselves. Very well done.
"Keepsakes and Treasures" was just very sad. I like that he is exploring these themes, but it was hard to read
"The fats in the case of the departire of Miss Finch" was like a dark version of The Night Circus. Miss Finch reminded me of an aunt of mine, so I found that part a bit funny. Not sure about the whole story though.
I'm not a big short story reader and I am finding it a bit exhausting going from one story to the next. I may need to pause for a few days
Ooh, I think my girlfriend has this one on her shelf and I'm heading over there tomorrow so quite possibly will start this one soon.
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Oh Karem, I've already gone and read that blog post you linked in advance to reading Closing Time ;)
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Well that probably isn't a bad thing. I think it would help a little to have that info before reading! (and, there are so many short stories in the book you may forget it before hand anyway) ;)
Aaand I just found the Study in Emerald short story online tonight. What a way to open an anthology!
Ooh, has anyone read the short story set two years after American Gods yet?
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I haven't come across it yet Nichole, but I'm not yet half way through
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It makes me want to go back and read the Narnia books!
I also really liked "locks". I guess I'm hitting a fairy tale patch in this book :)
Karen wrote: "I'm getting back to this now and just read "The problem of Susan"It makes me want to go back and read the Narnia books!
I also really liked "locks". I guess I'm hitting a fairy tale patch in this..."
"The problem of Susan" surprised me. At first because I didn't remember what happened to Susan in Narnia Chronicles. And because the role of Aslan in this case left me perplexed. I liked also the story 'How Do you Think it Feels?' and 'Goliath'. Overall a very good collection of stories.
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I'm not a big fan of short stories generally, but I read this as part of our challenge.
There were a few stories I quite enjoyed, and I did like the American Gods novella to see what Shadow is up to nowadays. I can also appreciate the amazing mind and creativity that is Gaiman through these stories, but as I often find myself with his stories.... the intended meanings *whoosh* right over my head! ;)
Finally got my hands on a physical copy of this so, although behind, I'll start reading it now.
Just coming up to Closing Time now. Are people still reading this, or has everybody finished?
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I thought it was good. The descriptive passages are evocative. I would almost have liked a longer story from it, something more to chew on. I think it's one of those stories that everyone takes a different thing out of.
Bitter Grounds confused me utterly, though. I'm not entirely sure I understand the content. At base, there seems to be a man running away from so etching, doing something altruistic, and then taking over a missing man's life. But I think I missed the bigger picture.
I was a little disappointed by "The Monarch of glen". I like shadow and the the environment of the Gods, but the story it seems to me a little weak.I think all stories in this collection should be read more times to be understood, because one time is not enough.
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I actually thought he was dead and just making his way to the "next step" which is why there was so much light at the end when the door opened to his coffee girl. I could be totally wrong too!! haha
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I think all stories in this collection should be..."
You're probably right about the re-reads. I quite liked the story, just putting Shadow into a different setting and a new angle
The Monarch in the Glen is the last story of the book? Feels like it's going to take me forever to finish this book. So many of them end abruptly and leave me feeling I haven't gotten them at all :(
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I had to take a bit of a break from reading this about halfway through for the same reason Nicole. I don't know that short stories and I are fast friends
I think I like longer short stories. These ones are sometimes only two or three pages.
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Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado
(last edited Jun 12, 2014 08:39PM)
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Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Circus (other topics)Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (other topics)
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (other topics)
Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders (other topics)
Fragile Things: Short Fictions & Wonders (other topics)
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BE PREPARED FOR SPOILERS
What is a buddy read?
About this Buddy Read
An “Informal Buddy Read” doesn’t have a discussion leader and participants are asked to consider some generic questions when making comments about the book
Synopsis
A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . .
In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . .
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 . . .
Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . .
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 . . .
Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—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, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time
Neil Gaiman Seasonal Challenge
This is our May 2014 choice. If you want to join us for a Neil Gaiman BR a month, you can sign up here
You do not need to be part of the challenge to join this buddy read. Everyone is welcome!