Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman

Fragile Things

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fiction | Short Stories

Format: Physical via Page 1 Books Subscription

Publish Date: September 2006

Read: April 2023

Favorite Quote: Hearts may break, but hearts are the toughest of muscles, able to pump for a lifetime, seventy times a minute, and scarcely falter along the way. Even dreams, the most delicate and intangible of things, can prove remarkably difficult to kill.

Story Synopsis: Fragile Things is one of Neil Gaiman’s anthologies of his short stories and poems. Until I recently read Norse Mythology, I’d never read anything by Gaiman before, despite being a fan of his characters in film and television. Fragile Things has great stories and poems regarding fairy lore. As you may imagine, there are also some hauntingly dark stories about other legendary creatures and characters. Since the stories are anywhere from two to twenty pages long, it’s easy to read the entire book quickly!

Why does this book beguile? I loved Gaiman’s take on several classic stories in Fragile Things. One of my favorites was the story called Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot, which was eerie and creepy, yet somehow realistic. My other favorite story is called Other People, which describes the concept of an eternal hell loop. If you’re a fan of the show Lucifer, you will love this story. Finally, as someone who dove far deeper into fairy myth, lore, and legend than expected, his otherworldly poems The Fairy Reel and Instructions are superficially fun, but leave you somewhat off-balance if you “know” about the fairy realm. Fragile Things was an experience to read and would highly recommend it!

Rating: 5/5

Link*: Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders | Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders