Stardust by Neil Gaiman: Review

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Title: Stardust
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 2009
Length: 368 pages
Series: Stand Alone
Audio or Book: Book
Reason for Discovery

From GoodReads: 

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined. 

Tristran Thorn is in love with a girl named Victoria. Victoria tells him that the only way to her heart is by bringing her a fallen star. Tristran, like so many young people who are madly in love, goes on an adventure to get his love's her heart's desire. On Tristrain's journey, he meets many strange and wondrous folk. The big question is whether Tristrain will want to return to his village and to his lady love after seeing so much of the world?

I saw the movie Stardust before I read the book. I thought the movie was adorable and fun. I enjoyed both the love story and the adventuring. A few years after watching the movie, I decided that I needed to read all of Neil Gaiman's books. Stardust was first on the list. 

Stardust, the book, did not disappoint. Although a few of the adventures play out slightly differently here and there, the story was essentially the same. Unlike other book-movie partners, I did not find the differences to be too jarring. If you haven't seen the movie, the plot is filled with both fairy tale whimsy and sadness. Gaiman does a great job of showcasing that fairy tales are fun and full of wonder but are also spiked with danger and loss. I must admit that I prefer my fairy tales to be a bit more Disney and a little less Grimm most of the time, so I prefer the movie version's portrayal of a plot point or two versus Gaiman's book. At the same time, the book does capture what a fairy tale should be.

I must admit that I didn't love many of the characters in this book. They were well-written characters; they were just irksome for different reasons. Let me explain, Gaiman does a great job of writing flawed characters. Most of his characters aren't perfect. They wear their flaws on their sleeves. Unlike some authors who will write a line or two noting a character's flaw (that really isn't a flaw at all), Gaiman gives his characters real flaws and shows the readers how these flaws manifest on a daily basis. Gaiman has characters that are cranky, irritable, dense, silly, naive, and all other sorts of things that we too do. Many of the characters in Stardust aren't super likeable, but as you can see, they aren't supposed to be super likeable. You are just supposed to enjoy the tale and like many of the characters "well enough." 

Overall, this is a lovely fairy tale. It is a story that I know that I will read many times. If you are a fan of fairy tales or Neil Gaiman, you should definitely give this book a read. 

I give this book a 4 out of 5.
Very Good
 

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