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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Neil Gaiman's style does of course take you in, he is a very clear storyteller even when as here the narrator might not be entirely reliable. I took it through out that the story was not supposed to be a metaphor (at least not within the text) for the narrator's father being abusive and adulterous, but that the events do literally happen to the narrator. One thing I was not clear about: the three women presumably represent the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone - however limiting and artificial a distinction that is - and at some points they talk about breeding new members of their tribe (the men tend to go off while the women stay) and presumably when the eldest dies they all shift up one. But elsewhere it is suggested that they are eternal, and that when the narrator returns he assumes the old lady is the Mother he knew as a child and she has grown old; but corrects himself, no, it is still the woman he knew as the Grandmother. Perhaps they are just very long lived. Also at times I wasn't sure whether it was set in our world (with a Masquerade concealing the existence of Faerie) or in a parallel one. Certain things were said, and until I convinced myself that the narrator's timescale was the same as the author's (thus the action takes place in or around 1968) I wasn't even sure when it was set. If it is our world in the late 1960s then it is a bit of a correlative to the dewy-eyed nostalgia for that era that we have seen in recent years: the period was by no means ideal, and certainly not for anyone other than the well-off white middle classes.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Tense and beautiful and heartbreaking and I didn’t want it to end
Definitely creepy at places. More than I expected.
I think I hoped for more after the buildup the book got over the last 18 months, but it was still a good read.
I think I hoped for more after the buildup the book got over the last 18 months, but it was still a good read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It feels like home, childhood, falling asleep in the backseat of a car and feeling safe with your mom or dad driving. A nice, lovely one from Neil.
This is a book of longing. This book makes you want to reach out and grasp the reality that you know deep inside you is there and is true but cannot be apprehended by your earth bound senses. This book tells you suffering has purpose, that sacrifice is worthwhile, that evil will be balanced.
This book reminded me some of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.
This book reminded me some of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.