Sunday, May 20, 2007

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Have you ever wished that you could stay a kid forever? As I get older, I do get more wistful about my childhood. Some of my fondest memories as a kid were reading books. My favourite author at that time was Enid Blyton. I think I finished reading the Wishing Chair when I was 8 years old. I LOVED that book. I remember bringing that book everywhere. Each time my family would 'balik kampung' during Raya, I'd somehow managed to find a niche in the luggage to store my book so that I can read it when I arrived at my grandparent's place. The Wishing Chair was a wonderful fairy tale book.

Neil Gaiman's books can often be described as fairytales for adults. It's not quite your typical fantasy ala David Eddings or Robert Jordan. Instead, Neil Gaiman takes our childhood memories of fairy tales and nursery rhymes and somehow incorporates them in a story that is both exciting and enchanting.

Stardust is a story of a young man who is completely besotted by a young woman who doesn't seem to be interested in returning his affections. To prove his worth to her, he journeys into the realm of Faerie to bring back the falling star that they both observed while walking together.

Yes, I know. A little bit cliche. Read it though and I think you'd probably agree with me that Neil Gaiman is one of the best storytellers of our time. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it! Among his other books are Neverwhere, American Gods and Anansi Boys. He also wrote a comic or graphic novel called Sandman. Wonderful storylines, all of them. I still rate Neverwhere as one of the best books I've ever read in my life!

I love lazy Sundays. They're simply perfect for enjoying a good book. I wonder what I'll be reading next Sunday. :D

No comments: