Fragile things – Neil Gaiman

Fragile things – Niel Gaiman ****

Neil Gaiman is like a box of chocolate. You never, ever know what you’re gonna get.
In Fragile Things – Gaimans second collection of short stories – we get it all. The good, the bad, the ugly. The hilarious, the horrendous, the mind-boggling. The sad, the spooky, the serious. (Alright, I’ll stop my alliterations now…)
This really is a chocolate box, to open at random and enjoy – as always with this author. Some stories require a bit of pre-knowledge, like A Study in Emerald, an amazing spoof on the old Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Red. Fortunately for me, I spent an entire summer about fiftteen years ago reading Arthur Connan Doyle. There’s also a very interesting story The Problem of Susan dealing with ending of The Last Battle in the Narnia series, in which the fact that Susan never gets to find Narina again is dealt with (something I also always felt very strongly about). The Monarch of the Glen is better if you’ve read American Gods first.
And some of the poems, especially The Day The Saucers Came are great.
But…but….either I’m getting psychic powers or else some of theses stories has been published before. I know I’ve read Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot before, as well as The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch. Can’t remember where or when, though. Might be sneak reads in Hamrelius I suppose.
But if you’re just thinking of reading one of these stories, I must recommend In the End, a one-page story about the last book in the Bible. It really is the choice praline in this gilded box of sweets. Because, great as these stories are, you must read them with some care. ‘Cause like a box of chocolates, if you overdo it, you might get sick.

Quote: That day, the saucer day, the zombie day, The Ragnarok and fairies day....