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Avon, Copyright 1999, 333 pages (of large
typeface)
ISBN: 0-380-80455-7
Read January 2013, at age 34
First time read, but I did see the movie
This is a standalone modern fairy tale, set
some time ago.
From the back cover:
In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, he makes a rash promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
Brief reactions after the break. No spoilers.
The book is wonderfully written,
wonderfully paced, and wonderfully plotted.
I had to pick it up twice because the tone took some getting used to,
and I never moved from acclimatized to enjoying the tone. It was written in a bit older tone, perhaps,
that fit the fairy tale, but felt a bit odd.
It also distanced me from the characters, so I didn’t feel as involved
in the story as I would have preferred.
It was a fast read, and there were
wonderful little descriptive phrases throughout. But… I think the movie worked better. It had a lighter tone and was funnier, than
the book (which was funny enough to start with) had essentially all the
elements of the book, and because the book was distanced from the characters,
gave a similar amount of insight into the characters. So that’s basically my take-away. It was good, but the movie was better.
Rating: 3
Other opinions:
Not surprisingly – it is Gaiman, after all
– this is a heavily-reviewed book.
Here are a couple I enjoyed.
Squee! Gaiman! The graphic novel is best!
Squee!
Gaiman! Be sure to read the prose
version. The graphics detract.
In addition to "Squee! Gaiman!", Those were pretty much the themes to the
reviews I found.
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