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midici's review against another edition
4.0
Well I did like the fifth volume, I will say that this one was my least favourite so far.
A Game of You explores the boundaries (and lack thereof) between the realms. The focus of the story is a regular woman, named Barbie. Part of my problem with this volume might have been because I was much more interested in the 'side' characters than in what was going on with Barbie. Barbie hangs out with her best friend Wanda, a trans-women; both of them live in a rundown apartment building. the building also holds the lesbian couple Hazel and Foxglove, the seemingly normal Thessaly, and the slightly creepy George.
When Barbie was younger she used to dream in a particular place in the Dream World. It was isolated and Barbie populated it with her own dreams and characters. At some point, however, something else joined this particular patch of Dream World and starting growing, using Barbie's dreams as its source of power. The Cuckoo's reign of terror prompts Barbie's forgotten dream-friends to cross over to the 'real' world to get Barbie's help.
I put 'real' in quotations because the waking world in Gaiman's Sandman books are no less fantastical and magical than the Dream World. George's body being used as a birdhouse to hold the Cuckoo's servants that bring dark dreams to the people in the apartment building was a very creepy example, but the most interesting one was Thessaly.
Thessaly doesn't explain who or what she is, only that she is far older than she appears and knows how to do rather dark magic that has long since been forgotten. Whatever she is, everything from the Moon to Morpheus is surprised to see her, apparently under the impression that all of her kind was dead. Thessaly kills George for setting the Cuckoo's servants on her, skins his face and reattaches his tongue and forces it to tell her what is happening - she is not even remotely in the realm of fooling around. She also imperiously demands the Moon guide her and the lesbian couple into the dreamworld that Barbie becomes trapped in, so she can find and kill this Cuckoo herself. This sort of hardcore ruthlessness is much more interesting than watching Barbie wander around mountains and forests so she can go somewhere and do something that is supposed to stop the Cuckoo without really knowing how or why.
The whole scene with the moon is without a doubt my favourite part: from the moon vowing vengeance on Thessaly for ordering her around, to Thessaly telling Wanda that she can't join them on the Moon path because the Moon is really strict about chromosomes, to the real life repercussions of the Moon's trip down to Earth. It's dark and surreal and funny - Gaiman at his best.
I liked the idea of the Cuckoo, hiding itself as an aspect of Barbie, using her to grow until finally she's too big to continue living in her and needs to find a way to spread to new realms. And I did like how everyone immediately starts agreeing with the Cuckoo after speaking with it; the Cuckoo protects itself by not being the Cuckoo, essentially. I was less interested in the confrontation, because it didn't really happen. The Cuckoo got what it wanted, Barbie survived, Thessaly decided she could live with the disappointment of not killing the Cuckoo...the only one who suffered for this adventure was poor Wanda, left behind and the homeless women Maggie who shows up as a sort of deus ex machina, just in time to save Barbie's life and die in the process.
The ending with Wanda's homophobic family and Barbie's rather meaningless gesture of support could have been cut entirely.
A Game of You explores the boundaries (and lack thereof) between the realms. The focus of the story is a regular woman, named Barbie. Part of my problem with this volume might have been because I was much more interested in the 'side' characters than in what was going on with Barbie. Barbie hangs out with her best friend Wanda, a trans-women; both of them live in a rundown apartment building. the building also holds the lesbian couple Hazel and Foxglove, the seemingly normal Thessaly, and the slightly creepy George.
When Barbie was younger she used to dream in a particular place in the Dream World. It was isolated and Barbie populated it with her own dreams and characters. At some point, however, something else joined this particular patch of Dream World and starting growing, using Barbie's dreams as its source of power. The Cuckoo's reign of terror prompts Barbie's forgotten dream-friends to cross over to the 'real' world to get Barbie's help.
I put 'real' in quotations because the waking world in Gaiman's Sandman books are no less fantastical and magical than the Dream World. George's body being used as a birdhouse to hold the Cuckoo's servants that bring dark dreams to the people in the apartment building was a very creepy example, but the most interesting one was Thessaly.
Thessaly doesn't explain who or what she is, only that she is far older than she appears and knows how to do rather dark magic that has long since been forgotten. Whatever she is, everything from the Moon to Morpheus is surprised to see her, apparently under the impression that all of her kind was dead. Thessaly kills George for setting the Cuckoo's servants on her, skins his face and reattaches his tongue and forces it to tell her what is happening - she is not even remotely in the realm of fooling around. She also imperiously demands the Moon guide her and the lesbian couple into the dreamworld that Barbie becomes trapped in, so she can find and kill this Cuckoo herself. This sort of hardcore ruthlessness is much more interesting than watching Barbie wander around mountains and forests so she can go somewhere and do something that is supposed to stop the Cuckoo without really knowing how or why.
The whole scene with the moon is without a doubt my favourite part: from the moon vowing vengeance on Thessaly for ordering her around, to Thessaly telling Wanda that she can't join them on the Moon path because the Moon is really strict about chromosomes, to the real life repercussions of the Moon's trip down to Earth. It's dark and surreal and funny - Gaiman at his best.
I liked the idea of the Cuckoo, hiding itself as an aspect of Barbie, using her to grow until finally she's too big to continue living in her and needs to find a way to spread to new realms. And I did like how everyone immediately starts agreeing with the Cuckoo after speaking with it; the Cuckoo protects itself by not being the Cuckoo, essentially. I was less interested in the confrontation, because it didn't really happen. The Cuckoo got what it wanted, Barbie survived, Thessaly decided she could live with the disappointment of not killing the Cuckoo...the only one who suffered for this adventure was poor Wanda, left behind and the homeless women Maggie who shows up as a sort of deus ex machina, just in time to save Barbie's life and die in the process.
The ending with Wanda's homophobic family and Barbie's rather meaningless gesture of support could have been cut entirely.
seraphiina's review against another edition
5.0
At first, I was skeptical, because the story initially seemed absurd, but I was quickly drawn into the absurdity into a story that turned out to have a much bigger meaning than anticipated. I finished the comic with an aching heart and the feeling like I've learned more about myself and the people I know.
aliciara_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Pretty progressive for its time. Ending is touching, but at the same time I wish that hadn't been the ending. I get it must be that I'm seeing it from a modern point of view, though
valeria_anedda's review against another edition
4.0
Tra nuovi e vecchi personaggi, si costruisce una storia stravagante e all'apparenza slegata dalla mitologia di Sandman. La trama è complessa e densa e ho trovato il tutto a tratti un po' confuso. Forse ho patito un po' l'assenza di Morfeo, ma ho apprezzato tanto i personaggi di Barbie e Wanda.
coltyn's review against another edition
3.75
Probably my least favorite one yet, but still enjoyed 🤓
mariugonza's review
5.0
So far my favorite one. Though we don’t see Dream as much in this one, I really enjoyed the story and the characters, also, it made me cry in the end so yeah...
56bumblebees's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
knod78's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite of the series. I felt confused during lots of it and then I had lots more questions at the end.
rhiana_everest's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5