ethemreal 's review for:

Smoke and Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman

1.0

---

I used to love Neil Gaiman's books, but as I've grown up, and I think as I have realized and healed from my trauma, I've slowly liked them less and less. It was hard to finish this, the more I read the more it felt like the stories were about violence, and violence, and conquest. Each and every plot had at least one point of pain and suffering that was intentional. Some had rape, many had murder, and none felt new or important or about the victims or orginal.

I think there are people who do need stories about bad things happening, where there isn't a happy ending, or a resolution. But I do not think that these have any love or remorse.

Perhaps I'm just not the intended audience anymore. Or perhaps these stories would be vastly improved by just one iota of compassion.