Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis (From Goodreads)

Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall—named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining…

My Review
4 out of 5 stars

This is the second time I have read this book at the time of writing this review, plus I have seen the movie multiple times. I actually saw the movie before even reading the book the first time. I’m pretty sure my love of the movie influences my enjoyment of the book. For me, it’s really hard to separate the two, as the movie does a decent job of following the book, but they are different, mostly to make the movie a bit more cinematic. The book has a slower pace and less action, but it’s more about immersing you in the world yet being a simple, enchanting read. As I’m reading, I picture the characters as the actors that portray them, and picture all of the scenes of the movie as the setting. It’s not that Mr. Gaiman does a poor job of describing the characters and the world, no, not at all. It’s more so that the movie does a great job at interpreting the original work, but also adds in a bit more flair of an action-adventure story while the book is strictly more fairy tale.

Speaking of, the writing of the book itself is very fairy-tale like, which is quite fitting. I always enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing as he has his own distinguishable style that is somehow always able to adapt to the story he wants to tell. He usually lingers between whimsical and creepy, with this one being on the far end of the whimsical side of the scale.

I really just enjoy this book because I am a sucker for fairy tales and their retellings, and an original fairy tale by a fantastic writer is very much my type of work. Sure, it’s a little predictable and a little slow at parts, but it’s still got that enchanting feel of a fairy tail that just makes you smile.

See this review on Goodreads.