A review by gen_wolfhailstorm
Coraline and Other Stories by Neil Gaiman

5.0

This was a great, great assortment of short stories. I have started to realize that everything Gaiman writes is thoughtful and slow, with a point at the end or a story behind a story.
This book features 12 short stories, so I'll just write quick thoughts on them as individuals and then an overview.
Coraline, of course, was awesome! It was my first time reading the actual novel and it was excellent.
The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds was very strange and I found myself reading it in the voice of the detective in Sin City. I'm glad it wasn't too long, because although it was quirky it was just too strange.
Troll Bridge actually turned out to be much more meaningful and sad. I never would have thought that, however the voice of the narrator was quite emotionless and made me feel rather uneasy.
Even though it was just a few pages short, Don't As Jack was very creepy in a subtle manner.
How to sell the Ponti Bridge was a nice little tale. It's one of the most 'normal' stories in this collection, which is saying a lot because it was still very weird.
Chivalry was really cute and heartwarming to read and The Price was actually really sad.
How to talk to girls at parties wasn't at all what I thought it'd be. I thought it was be a humerus one, but it was rather sad and odd. It was something I thought would be a normal, teenage, awkward story and it really... REALLY... was not.
Sunbird was a strange and happy-sad story too. I actually loved the ending, although, somewhat odd.. But if you have not figured that out by now that's kind of a standard thing.
The Witch's Headstone was great! I think it's from the Graveyard Boy (I think that's the name), which I'll be reading the graphic novel of at some point.
And lastly, the Instructions, poem-y layout was nice. I liked the references.7
All in all, if you want to get a feel for what Gaimen's writing style is like, this is a great book for beginners, with the much loved Coraline!

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén