Sign in with Facebook
Jonathan Terrington's Reviews > Fragile Things
Fragile Things
by
Stories, Neil Gaiman informs in the introduction, are fragile things made up of 26 letters (more if you want to use phonetic symbols), ink and paper. They are illusions created by things that cannot last, but the best stories survive and transform. The stories within this volume are perhaps some of those best stories.
This collection contained many of Gaiman's most famous short stories. I want to write three quick reviews of some of the short stories. Including one which I previously read online and reviewed seperately.
A Study in Emerald
A re-read of A Study in Emerald proved highly enlightening as I was able to observe and analyse the technique used by Gaiman in creating the story. As previously mentioned his first paragraph verges close to plagiarism in how it replicates the feel of another Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet. Yet only a foolish person would dare call this a work of plagiarism, rather it is a story which clearly references both Lovecraft and Doyle in a unique manner. (view spoiler) It is a work of genius and a very clever short story in all its technical proficiency.
Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire
This was a story which I didn't quite understand but I have an idea of what Gaiman was aiming at. (view spoiler) If what I think is correct then it was a very clever story, speaking about the writer's art and about the connection between horror and reality. It was also a creepy story in the proper way a horror story should be!
The Problem of Susan
This is one of Neil Gaiman's more famous stories and also a very controversial one. I liked some elements of it, for instance the technical aspect of the writing (view spoiler) However what did not work where the sexual undertones and the analysis that Susan was left behind because of her growing sexuality which is what many people have criticised Lewis for. However I think that section of The last Battle personally is meant to be focused around the fact that Susan became focused on other things than Narnia. I think that Lewis merely phrased this concept awkwardly, in a way that makes it easy to see it as a sexist dig at Susan not being able to go to Narnia because she discovered boys and lipstick. Yet if you do a true analysis I think you'll notice that the grown up Lucy does go to Narnia in the end. Surely she would have discovered some kind of adult sexuality? Yet she remained true to Narnia. I also disliked the metaphor with the lion and the witch very much. I think Neil Gaiman's own personal ideology causes him to spite the religious message in the Narnia books and that it was rather apparent in his (I thought it was vulgar) portrayal of the witch and lion.
Conclusion
On the whole most of the stories worked and the poems additionally added an extra level to this collection. It is certainly something every short story enthusiast and fantasy fan, let alone Neil Gaiman fan will want to read. Gaiman is one of the more versatile modern authors and his work is both bizarre, fascinating, reflective and full of literary reference. His humour shines through in subtle ways, making his work that little bit more charming. On the whole an easy four star rating and a collection to enjoy on any kind of day.
by
Jonathan Terrington's review
bookshelves: neil-gaiman, fantasy, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, humorous, mystery, quirky, short-stories, alphabet-challenge
Nov 03, 2012
bookshelves: neil-gaiman, fantasy, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, humorous, mystery, quirky, short-stories, alphabet-challenge
Stories, Neil Gaiman informs in the introduction, are fragile things made up of 26 letters (more if you want to use phonetic symbols), ink and paper. They are illusions created by things that cannot last, but the best stories survive and transform. The stories within this volume are perhaps some of those best stories.
This collection contained many of Gaiman's most famous short stories. I want to write three quick reviews of some of the short stories. Including one which I previously read online and reviewed seperately.
A Study in Emerald
A re-read of A Study in Emerald proved highly enlightening as I was able to observe and analyse the technique used by Gaiman in creating the story. As previously mentioned his first paragraph verges close to plagiarism in how it replicates the feel of another Sherlock Holmes story A Study in Scarlet. Yet only a foolish person would dare call this a work of plagiarism, rather it is a story which clearly references both Lovecraft and Doyle in a unique manner. (view spoiler) It is a work of genius and a very clever short story in all its technical proficiency.
Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire
This was a story which I didn't quite understand but I have an idea of what Gaiman was aiming at. (view spoiler) If what I think is correct then it was a very clever story, speaking about the writer's art and about the connection between horror and reality. It was also a creepy story in the proper way a horror story should be!
The Problem of Susan
This is one of Neil Gaiman's more famous stories and also a very controversial one. I liked some elements of it, for instance the technical aspect of the writing (view spoiler) However what did not work where the sexual undertones and the analysis that Susan was left behind because of her growing sexuality which is what many people have criticised Lewis for. However I think that section of The last Battle personally is meant to be focused around the fact that Susan became focused on other things than Narnia. I think that Lewis merely phrased this concept awkwardly, in a way that makes it easy to see it as a sexist dig at Susan not being able to go to Narnia because she discovered boys and lipstick. Yet if you do a true analysis I think you'll notice that the grown up Lucy does go to Narnia in the end. Surely she would have discovered some kind of adult sexuality? Yet she remained true to Narnia. I also disliked the metaphor with the lion and the witch very much. I think Neil Gaiman's own personal ideology causes him to spite the religious message in the Narnia books and that it was rather apparent in his (I thought it was vulgar) portrayal of the witch and lion.
Conclusion
On the whole most of the stories worked and the poems additionally added an extra level to this collection. It is certainly something every short story enthusiast and fantasy fan, let alone Neil Gaiman fan will want to read. Gaiman is one of the more versatile modern authors and his work is both bizarre, fascinating, reflective and full of literary reference. His humour shines through in subtle ways, making his work that little bit more charming. On the whole an easy four star rating and a collection to enjoy on any kind of day.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Fragile Things.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
November 3, 2012
– Shelved
December 8, 2012
– Shelved as:
neil-gaiman
January 31, 2013
–
Started Reading
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
fantasy-sci-fi-challenge
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
fantasy
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
humorous
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
mystery
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
quirky
February 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
short-stories
February 2, 2013
–
Finished Reading
March 21, 2013
– Shelved as:
alphabet-challenge
Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Joel
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Feb 02, 2013 03:37PM
What did you think about the short story about Susan Pevensie? I'd be interested in hearing your take.
reply
|
flag
My review will address that in part!
![[Name Redacted]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p1/287915.jpg)
I strongly disliked that story, as it seemed to be part of a post-1960s tradition of imposing modern sex-obsessed readings onto anything and everything; Lewis's actual point seemed to be that Susan was distracted (a la Mark 4:19) by the "cares of this world", not some priggish anti-sexuality message.
I agree with your take. As much as I like Gaiman I think it's rather cowardly of him to abuse Lewis' universe so much when he has no ability to defend himself from beyond the grave. I don't know; maybe I was taking his creative license as a personal assault on my childhood. I have not written a review for Fragile Things but I'll hijack this space on your review (oh so cowardly of me) to mention that "The Day the Saucers Landed" is one of the best pieces Gaiman has ever written. What did you think?
I don't think it was cowardly so much as it was betraying a lack of insight. He was just following along in the footsteps of other critics who made names for themselves by finding in The Last Battle what they see in everything. And given that I read it when i was 18 and again in my late 20s and didn't pick up on the subtext they claim to have found...well...Also, yes, Jonathan, you understood "Forbidden Brides"!
Joel wrote: "I agree with your take. As much as I like Gaiman I think it's rather cowardly of him to abuse Lewis' universe so much when he has no ability to defend himself from beyond the grave. I don't know; m..."The Day the Saucers landed was very, very good. There are plenty of very good pieces in this collection. The three I refer to are those which particularly resonated with me in how they subvert ideas and are worth a look for their technique.
I find that Gaiman is good at subverting ideas but there are times when he seems to go too far with that. Where he almost reads too deeply into a story and writes something that while technically strong indicates that he likely did not understand the original to begin with. As with the story about Susan there are adult ideas in there which I don't necessarily think are cowardly but show that he didn't understand where Lewis was coming from. I think he takes Phillip Pullman's side in looking at 'the problem of Susan' rather than what I think Lewis was trying to do. And since Pullman was a noted atheist who hated Lewis' work and wrote an anti-Narnia, well I think the story is flawed in what that it discusses issues that don't necessarily exist... Save that is, through over-analysis.
I'm glad I understood Forbidden Brides. From that perspective it was very clever and very interesting. I could see a lot of different horror references done in a very comedic way!
I also didn't like the Problem of Susan. I devoured the Narnia books as a young child without particularly noting the religious ideology (I used to take myself off to Evangelical Church as the age of 8 because if I sand loudly they gave me sweets and I liked the 'stories'. I ended up agnostic, so perhaps some things just pass me by!). I've read them a few times as an adult, and never had a problem with Lewis' ideology - he writes of his time, and of his creed. That said, it is an interesting question - what did happen to Susan, and what could she do that had her so comprehensively banished from Narnia, when even a blasphemous donkey could be forgiven?It's while since I read Fragile Things, but I liked Gaiman's introduction the best, where he talks about why / how he wrote the stories. The stories themselves did little for me. And I kinda idolise the man, so it hurts to say that.
Jane wrote: "I also didn't like the Problem of Susan. I devoured the Narnia books as a young child without particularly noting the religious ideology (I used to take myself off to Evangelical Church as the age..."I tried reading Smoke and Mirrors and didn't enjoy it on the whole but this I quite liked. I did find his introduction here very interesting and I often skip introductions. It was great to see where the stories came from.
WowSome passionate comments
I'll have to read this story immediately
GingerDoll wrote: "I also didn't like the Problem of Susan. I devoured the Narnia books as a young child without particularly noting the religious ideology (I used to take myself off to Evangelical Church as the age..."I think the point isn't that she was banished from Narnia, but rather that she quit/rejected it. Like the Dwarves at the end who wind up IN paradise, but are so convinced it's a lie that they can't enjoy it -- Lewis seems to place a great emphasis on choice and will. Susan convinced herself that the "real" world was all that existed, dismissing Narnia as nothing but a childhood fantasy and mocking her siblings for still caring about it, and so she could not return to it...yet. There's never any indication that she's PERMANENTLY kept out, to be fair. Lewis was criticizing classical materialism -- the conviction that the material world is all that exists and there is and can be nothing beyond it -- rather than sexuality.
