A fun read. I thought the fairies where well written, and enjoyed the difference between the nationalities. I could have done with less fighting between Morag and Heather, but that was part of what made the ending so rewarding I guess.
I will have to look into other books by Mr. Millar, as this one was quite enjoyable. ( )

Possibly one of the oddest books I have ever read, this had me chortling all the way to London and back on the train.

The Good Fairies of New York is a story of many, many characters. Right from the off, we meet Morag and Heather, two Scottish thimble fairies, who are transported to New York while escaping the old country and the chaos they left behind them. After a rather amusing and vocal disagreement, the fairies go their separate ways; Heather with the unsociable, ungracious and musically untalented Dinnie, and Morag with the sweet but self-centred Kerry, who suffers from Crohn’s disease. It turns out that Morag and Heather are not the only fairies in New York, in fact the city is rather heavily populated by many races and cultures, just as with the humans. These other fairies aren’t too impressed with events that proceed, Morag and Heather cause many a scene, followed by the tumultuous arrival of other Scottish, English and Irish fairies, hot on their trail.

I won’t give any more details, as it is difficult to summarise the story without utter confusion. As you can imagine, the story descends into absolute chaos, with alcohol, magic mushrooms, music, adventures, fights and laughs aplenty. Good Fairies was a surprisingly quick read and perfect for my frustrating journey to London, keeping my mood light with many a giggle and guffaw. Needless to say I received many a bewildered look from other passengers.

This latest addition has an entertaining introduction from none other than the great Neil Gaiman, and with an endorsement like that, how could not enjoy it. Martin Millar is actually British, which comes across in his knowledge of Scottish lore and his style of humour, despite the story being set in New York. I shall definitely be reading more of Millar’s work and highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy, humour and music.

Although Neil Gaiman writes an enthusiastic intro to this, I found it disappointing. It's like a weak version of Charles de Lint's excellent novels. If you like petty, squabbling fairies and no-hoper main characters, this is your book. ( )

This book has an introduction by Neil Gaiman...very cool. It was a easy and fun read. But my final verdict is that, well, it was ok. I liked it. But I didn't love it.

The book starts out like this:

Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet.

The main story revolves around a couple of Scottish fairies who've run away and somehow ended up in New York City's Lower East Side. Heather and Morag, are sort of your typical fairies: they drink a lot, fight, play the music excellently, and get into all sorts of trouble....like angering the fairies in Harlem and Chinatown by robbing them. Most humans can't see the fairies but some do: including a few homeless people and a couple of lone souls in the East Village: Dinnie and Kerry. Dinnie has a crush on Kerry who lives across the street, but Dinnie is a pretty vile character. And Kerry is preoccupied with a horrible health problem while trying to win in an art competition. Also, as part of a bargain, Heather helps Dinnie try and win over Kerry. And Morag helps Kerry sabotage her ex's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh...and Kerry loves the New York Dolls and the ghost of Johnny Thunders is roaming the Village searching for his beloved guitar someone stole. Oh, and at some point there's a fairy war between the good fairies of New York and the Cornish fairies from England.

Interesting, right? I liked Kerry. I could never stand Dinnie. And the fairies were pretty silly. It was funny and cute. But it just wasn't "wow" to me. I think it'd work better as maybe a graphic novel? Hmmm...not sure. ( )

Good Fairies of New York is a quirky, humorous novel that at the same time captures the sad social situation of New York City in the 70-80s period before the renaissance and the transformation of the 90s. That description is more serious than it sounds because what happens with the human’s New York is just the background, the real actions of the book are the various fairies of different ethic groups living (or visiting) the city!

First of all Martin Millar’s writing style is not for everyone. It’s like following someone with ADD! Two paragraphs in he’s already switch his focus to another character, and then another character, and then another one. He can switch like 10 times in a chapter, and each chapter is like 2-4 pages!!! This type of narrative might work on a television show like Lost or Heroes, but for a literature work, it’s very difficult to follow, especially at the beginning when all the characters are unfamiliar to the readers. It gets better after a while when you finally remember the names of the many different characters, but the beginning part I was just so annoyed by this style. However, the end is satisfying because all these complex plot lines and characters all comes together perfectly, it’s very amazing!

So the story begins with two Scottish fairies landed themselves in New York after stirring up troubles back home. They meet a fat and mean human named Dinnie and a pretty but poor and sick girl named Kerry. For each of their own agenda the fairies want to fix these two up. It seems like a simple plot but somehow it involved an art competition, a crazy bag lady on the street that thinks she’s an ancient Greek general, the industrialization of the English fairies, the evil King of English fairies and the rebels, the warring clans of different Scottish fairies and their attempt to capture the two exiled fairies, the Irish fairies, the Black fairies in Harlem, the Italian fairies of Little Italy, the Chinese fairies in Chinatown, the ghost of Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls, a flower alphabet, and the war of fairies in central park! Seriously the characters in this book is mind blowingly complicated and yet you can’t keep it off your hands once you get into it!!

P.S. the author watches Buffy the Vampire Slayer in his spare time - no wonder he is so imaginative! he’s a fellow member of the Buffyverse! :) ( )