shoosha 's review for:

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman

4.0

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always start collections of short stories hesitantly. I fear that they won't satisfy me as much as a fat juicy novel. And yet, 9/10 I devour and savor these collections with more fervor than most novels I dive into. The story, or poem, ends and gives you a chance to breathe and contemplate. To combine and to compare to your well-worn neuro-pathways, challenging your perception. This is especially true in 'Smoke and Mirrors' and I was tickled pink by so many of these borderline spooky, sometimes heartbreaking, lots of times warm and cozy stories. The foreword has little bits of how each story came to be, and I found myself flipping there to read each story's origin before diving in, and it provided such a beautiful look into Neil Gaiman and his marvelous brain! I have another collection of his in my lineup for this spring and I'm super looking forward to it!