Review:
M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
Bloomsbury 2007.
(Age 13+) Eleven short stories ranging from the whimsical to the very
scary make up this collection by master storyteller Neil Gaiman. The
frightening ones remained with me long after I finished reading them.
Their ambiguous endings demand that the readers use their imagination,
which is often richer than the written word, to decide what could have
occurred. What really happened to the Runt, a friendless, young boy who
ran away and met a ghost in the dark? What would happen when the Black
Cat finally could not fight the devil and keep the evil away? Other
stories like the one where the hardboiled detective is hired by Jill
Dumpty to investigate Humpty's fall, were laced with humour and word
play and were fun to read.
The collection concluded with the poem, Instructions. Here is its
conclusion:
'When you reach the little house, the place your
journey started,
you will recognize it, although it will seem
much smaller than you remember.'
Readers will indeed find that their world has grown larger after
reading these stories.
Pat Pledger
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Consulting, 2007