Neil Gaiman’s books have always interested me, and this book is probably my favorite Neil Gaiman book right behind Stardust. This post, and other posts, however, will not be a summary of the book itself, as I'm sure other book reviewers/reviewing sites already accomplish that very feat of dissecting literary themes, plot devices etc. (SparkNotes, anyone?). Rather, I find an unspeakable delight in the action of reading books, and enjoy exploring thought threads and what-if? tangents of a good story long after its ended; DON'T even get me started on my love of lore and world crafting. I digress.
Maybe my blunt descriptions of why the books I've read have touched me or impacted me thus far, might end up being a good indicator of how the book may also resonate with you, without the technicalities or the story breakdown. I digress still.
The loss of innocence and the (imperial) march of adulthood is altogether nostalgic and painful. Reading this book, I am taken back to the mysteriousness of childhood, the wonders of creativity and imagination, and the horrible death of it all as we grow older. How silly was I as a child, wanting to be a grown-up? I’d give anything to be 10 again, looking at the world through multi-colored lenses, knowing with all my heart that when people get together, they stay together because love is enough and will always be enough, that good people and bad people are distinctive and separate, that my parents are infallible and my dog will live forever. Words will always triumph over the sword.
I feel for the book, for the circumstances that occur in the story, for the protagonist and for the side characters. I feel for the unknown pain that envelopes young hearts everywhere in the world, for when they start to see everything for what they really are, when the universe becomes black and white because it is. Why gray? I feel for my memories, for my life before mechanical death, life before reality. I feel, the way I no longer feel now.
The best advice you can receive today, is to read the book. Read the book in all its short and sticky sweet entirety, and embrace the you that was.
8.5/10
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