Welcome to my feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of Stardust by Neil Gaiman.
Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.
Similar to the wonderful Sabriel (but written nearly a decade later) the world in Stardust is split, between the magical and the ‘normal world’, by a wall. On one side is a society based on Victorian sentiments. While on the other magic rules and the price of goods is not what you always suspect.
Tristan decides to find a fallen star to prove his love for the local beauty but his quest is fraught with danger, and will he come back a changed man?
Gaiman does a fantastic job of convincing the reader that the land of Fairie is a real place, after all it could be Scotland, couldn’t it? He also adds a bit of everything into the tale so that no one feels left out – including the pirates.
Luckily for us we can sit back and watch the drama unfold on the page. After all “Adventures are all very well in their place, but there’s a lot to be said for regular meals and freedom from pain.”
Leave a Reply