"Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Stardust was my third Gaiman book, and I must say he hasn't disappointed me yet. This story was very like a fairy tale, and I really enjoyed reading it. It tells of Tristran Thorn, a young man from the village of Wall who sets off into Faerie in search of a fallen star at the request of his grey-eyed love.

With two minor exceptions (Yvaine's reaction to her broken leg and the brief chronicling of Tristran's origins), this story would be completely appropriate for Bookworm Child, and I think she would love it. However, she did give it a try a while back--long before I ever picked it up--and didn't make it very far. Apparently she thought it was boring, though I can't see how that could be possible.

As with many recent books that are at least half-decent, this one has been made into a movie--one which I've seen but I hardly remember. Luckily I have my movie blog to tell me that I enjoyed it, even if it was predictable (and it evidently is not one of the more memorable movies I've seen).

Here's what I'm trying to figure out: why did I like this story so much when the equally fairy-tale-like The Book of Lost Things was somewhat of a disappointment to me? Looking back, I don't know that I felt any more absorbed by Stardust than by Lost Things. But I certainly found I read it with far fewer criticisms in mind. All I can think to chalk it up to is Gaiman's superior storytelling skills.

So this was a good one. Sorry, Paperbackswappers--I'm not letting it go. This one is staying in my collection. Unless, that is, I ever have the chance to replace it with the original publication, which sounds like it was basically a series of four really nice comic books.