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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
It is exceedingly difficult to rate short story collections. My expectations for short stories differ greatly from what I hope to take away from a novel. With such a limited word count in a short story, the story needs to pack a punch. Some of these stories succeeded in doing that. Others did not. The stories I loved most were The Price, the Goldfish Pool and Other Stories, Changes, Murder Mysteries, and Snow, Glass, Apples.
There is no denying that Neil Gaiman is a wordsmith and beautiful storyteller. As soon as I read a word of his, I am enthralled. His specialty is charming tales, but I enjoyed the way he pushed some of his own self-constructed boundaries in several of these stories.
Reading the Entrails (3)
The Wedding Present (4) – I nearly missed this one because it was buried in the introduction (shh… mustn’t tell how often I skip or skim introductions) but I am glad I did not. A strange hybrid of Dorian Gray and the question of if it is better to have loved an lost or to never have loved at all, The Wedding Present poses an interesting question on the could-have-beens of life.
Chivalry (3) – Stereotypically charming for Gaiman. Cute and fun but missing the X factor.
Nicholas Was... (5) – Love horror Christmas!
The Price (5) – Black Cat Club 4 life. This was a sweet and dark tale of the things we take for granted in life. A wonderful short story.
Troll Bridge (4) – I liked this take on the trolls hiding under the bridge story. This one is a bit of a thinker.
Don't Ask Jack (3) – A good ambience piece, but lacking in substance.
The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories (4.5)
The White Road (3)
Queen of Knives (2)
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch (3)
Changes (5) – I personally found this to be a fascinating and unbiased case study on gender reflection. Gaiman simply examines the what if? of a world where people could change gender at a moment’s notice. It is not out to make a point; it simply exists to initiate thought. The speculative nature of how the world changes with these changes was worth the read.
The Daughter of Owls (1) – WTF?
Shoggoth's Old Peculiar (4) – A fun little Lovecraftian tale in the midst of a random seaside English town.
Virus (3)
Looking for the Girl (3)
Only the End of the World Again (3)
Bay Wolf (2)
We Can Get Them For You Wholesale (3)
One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock (2)
Cold Colors – Literally don’t even remember this
The Sweeper of Dreams (4) – Gaiman’s imagination must be an interesting place. I love that many of his stories are inspired by artwork. The imagery of the sweeper of dreams drives this short, sensational tale.
Foreign Parts (3) – Hmm this was quite odd. I haven’t really grasped the full though behind this story. It was interesting and made some interesting points, but, as Gaiman mentions in the introduction, it’s not really a marketable story to most audiences.
Vampire Sestina (3.5)
Mouse (3.5) – One of the more depressing stories in the collection, Mouse tells the tale of a man trying to deal with a mouse in his home while in the background his partner is getting an abortion and is abandoned to pick up the pieces herself. I think it was okay but could have been executed better.
The Sea Change (2)
When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, age 11¼ (4) – Quirky and a bit odd, this story was a fun representation of an apocalypse through the eyes of a child.
Desert Wind (2)
Tastings (3.5) – Gaiman’s introduction for this story is hilarious. It was an interesting story to read and quite a departure from his normal work.
Babycakes (5) – Snappy and to the point, this short story was a lovely piece of satire. It was highly reminiscent of Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. It’s funny how humbly suggesting eating babies tends to get everyone’s attention.
Murder Mysteries (4) – To be fully transparent, I fear I didn’t fully understand the ending to this story. It was on track to be my favorite of the bunch. The dialogue was riveting, and the mystery was enrapturing. But what was the point? I see bits and pieces that were really working here, but I need some time and discussion for this.
Snow, Glass, Apples (4) – Who doesn’t love a good fairytale retelling from the villain’s POV? Our evil queen reveals to us the true nature of Snow White and the queen’s unjust treatment. It was a little dark and a fun take on the tale.
Overall: I don’t know, initially this was a 3, but I did really enjoy a lot of it, so I was going to give Mr. Gaiman a 4 for this collection, but then I thought about how boring a few of these stories were so, again, I don’t know. 3.5 stars
There is no denying that Neil Gaiman is a wordsmith and beautiful storyteller. As soon as I read a word of his, I am enthralled. His specialty is charming tales, but I enjoyed the way he pushed some of his own self-constructed boundaries in several of these stories.
Reading the Entrails (3)
The Wedding Present (4) – I nearly missed this one because it was buried in the introduction (shh… mustn’t tell how often I skip or skim introductions) but I am glad I did not. A strange hybrid of Dorian Gray and the question of if it is better to have loved an lost or to never have loved at all, The Wedding Present poses an interesting question on the could-have-beens of life.
Chivalry (3) – Stereotypically charming for Gaiman. Cute and fun but missing the X factor.
Nicholas Was... (5) – Love horror Christmas!
The Price (5) – Black Cat Club 4 life. This was a sweet and dark tale of the things we take for granted in life. A wonderful short story.
Troll Bridge (4) – I liked this take on the trolls hiding under the bridge story. This one is a bit of a thinker.
Don't Ask Jack (3) – A good ambience piece, but lacking in substance.
The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories (4.5)
The White Road (3)
Queen of Knives (2)
The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch (3)
Changes (5) – I personally found this to be a fascinating and unbiased case study on gender reflection. Gaiman simply examines the what if? of a world where people could change gender at a moment’s notice. It is not out to make a point; it simply exists to initiate thought. The speculative nature of how the world changes with these changes was worth the read.
The Daughter of Owls (1) – WTF?
Shoggoth's Old Peculiar (4) – A fun little Lovecraftian tale in the midst of a random seaside English town.
Virus (3)
Looking for the Girl (3)
Only the End of the World Again (3)
Bay Wolf (2)
We Can Get Them For You Wholesale (3)
One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock (2)
Cold Colors – Literally don’t even remember this
The Sweeper of Dreams (4) – Gaiman’s imagination must be an interesting place. I love that many of his stories are inspired by artwork. The imagery of the sweeper of dreams drives this short, sensational tale.
Foreign Parts (3) – Hmm this was quite odd. I haven’t really grasped the full though behind this story. It was interesting and made some interesting points, but, as Gaiman mentions in the introduction, it’s not really a marketable story to most audiences.
Vampire Sestina (3.5)
Mouse (3.5) – One of the more depressing stories in the collection, Mouse tells the tale of a man trying to deal with a mouse in his home while in the background his partner is getting an abortion and is abandoned to pick up the pieces herself. I think it was okay but could have been executed better.
The Sea Change (2)
When We Went to See the End of the World by Dawnie Morningside, age 11¼ (4) – Quirky and a bit odd, this story was a fun representation of an apocalypse through the eyes of a child.
Desert Wind (2)
Tastings (3.5) – Gaiman’s introduction for this story is hilarious. It was an interesting story to read and quite a departure from his normal work.
Babycakes (5) – Snappy and to the point, this short story was a lovely piece of satire. It was highly reminiscent of Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. It’s funny how humbly suggesting eating babies tends to get everyone’s attention.
Murder Mysteries (4) – To be fully transparent, I fear I didn’t fully understand the ending to this story. It was on track to be my favorite of the bunch. The dialogue was riveting, and the mystery was enrapturing. But what was the point? I see bits and pieces that were really working here, but I need some time and discussion for this.
Snow, Glass, Apples (4) – Who doesn’t love a good fairytale retelling from the villain’s POV? Our evil queen reveals to us the true nature of Snow White and the queen’s unjust treatment. It was a little dark and a fun take on the tale.
Overall: I don’t know, initially this was a 3, but I did really enjoy a lot of it, so I was going to give Mr. Gaiman a 4 for this collection, but then I thought about how boring a few of these stories were so, again, I don’t know. 3.5 stars
Let me state for the record that I am a HUGE Neil Gaiman fan. And most every thing he writes makes me feel like a complete failure as a writer myself...thinking 'how could I ever be as good.'
Overall, I appreciated the many written styles that Mr. Gaiman choose for his various stories and enjoyed the majority of the them. Reading the inspirations and gestation of each story provided such insight into his writing process and how some stories need to be put away for a bit and then brought back out at the right time. I am always in awe of Mr. Gaiman's ability to create such vivid worlds and characters.
There were a few stories in Smoke and Mirrors that I didn't care for. It may be me....I'm not a big fan of any poetry of any kind (not even 'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...') and some of the short stories were written in said manner. A couple of stories felt incomplete.
My favorite:
The Wedding Present (yes, I do read Introductions)
Chivalry
The Price
Troll Bridge
Don't Ask Jack
The Goldfish Pool and Other Stores (reminds me of my life in LA)
Looking for the Girl
We Can Get Them For You Wholesale
Change
Overall, I appreciated the many written styles that Mr. Gaiman choose for his various stories and enjoyed the majority of the them. Reading the inspirations and gestation of each story provided such insight into his writing process and how some stories need to be put away for a bit and then brought back out at the right time. I am always in awe of Mr. Gaiman's ability to create such vivid worlds and characters.
There were a few stories in Smoke and Mirrors that I didn't care for. It may be me....I'm not a big fan of any poetry of any kind (not even 'Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...') and some of the short stories were written in said manner. A couple of stories felt incomplete.
My favorite:
The Wedding Present (yes, I do read Introductions)
Chivalry
The Price
Troll Bridge
Don't Ask Jack
The Goldfish Pool and Other Stores (reminds me of my life in LA)
Looking for the Girl
We Can Get Them For You Wholesale
Change
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
A couple stories I really liked (the last two were my favorite), the rest were OK. At the start of the book he wrote blurbs about why or how he wrote the story, which was both interesting and the only reason some of them made any "sense." If I could do half-stars it'd be a 3.5.
2.5 Stars for the stories that I didn't enjoy.
The best stories that I liked in this book were the ones that I've already read separately as graphic novels which, in my opinion, are the best ones to read in this Gaiman's short stories collection. The other stories were either dumb or a big meeeeeh that he wrote in his Punk days. I like Gaiman but that doesn't mean that I will like whatever nonsense he might have wrote in his life.
The best stories that I liked in this book were the ones that I've already read separately as graphic novels which, in my opinion, are the best ones to read in this Gaiman's short stories collection. The other stories were either dumb or a big meeeeeh that he wrote in his Punk days. I like Gaiman but that doesn't mean that I will like whatever nonsense he might have wrote in his life.
dark
emotional
Ah, the age-old issue of the short story collection — some of the stories were fantastic, some of them were less than my favorite. The better stories were masterful representations of magical realism, written in Gaiman’s signature style. Meanwhile, I was not a fan of the way women were consistently written throughout these vignettes, and did not enjoy being jumpscared by sexual scenes and stories. My favorite stories in this collection, however, include The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories, Queen of Knives, We Can Get Them For You Wholesale, When We Went to See the End of the World, and Babycakes. Edit 6 July 2024: you know what, the way women were written was a BIG problem. -.5 stars.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated