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In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
Jannes: Gaiman might be inspired by Dunsany and Mirrlees while Valente leans slightly more toward Carroll and Baum, but both of them are modern authors tackling the classic fairytale, both are great stylists, and both books are highly enjoyable.
Haltiamieli: "Perhaps this book should come with a warning: it is not a reassuring, by-the-numbers fantasy novel, like most of the books with elves, princes, trolls, and unicorns 'between their covers.' This is the real thing." – Neil Gaiman
TeaWren: Quite different really, but along similar general lines. There's a quest, and fairy tales aren't quite what they seem, and it's funny and sad and rather clever.
Let me start by saying that I watched this movie many moons ago and there's only two things that I remember - first was a captain in a pink tutu and second was that I loved the movie. So, I was pretty sure I was going to love the book, too and, would you look at that, I did! This book was so filled with magic and wonder. With every turn of the pages, I felt excitement for what was to come next.
Now, I could seriously do without the unicorn scene with the witch. That made my stomach turn because I can't handle violence against animals (even though I'm perfectly fine with the most twisted of slayings when it comes to people).
The next paragraph contains SPOILERS for the ending. Read at your own risk.
Although it was a beautiful story, with a beautiful ending all wrapped up nicely in a silver ribbon, I can't help feeling... hurt by the epilogue. It just sucks that she has to live forever even after Tristran has died. And they couldn't have kids so they didn't have an heir though I imagine it would be even more painful to watch her husband and child die. Still, thinking about her on the rooftop staring sadly up at the moon hurts my heart. And though she wasn't a major player, he didn't say what fate befell Tristans mother, though I imagine time took her, as well. Low key, I wanted Septimus to win the throne lol I was surprised when it was announced that Una was a Stormhold and, as such, so was Tristran.
Overall, such a good read, I'm so happy I picked this up and now I want to go watch the movie again! ( )
Thank you, Neil Gaiman, for writing a romantic comedy and fantasy in plain language. Thank you for making the end of summer just a bit sweeter. The denouement is much gentler than the film's, but that's just fine. ( )
Thank you, Neil Gaiman, for writing a romantic comedy and fantasy in plain language. Thank you for making the end of summer just a bit sweeter. The denouement is much gentler than the film's, but that's just fine. ( )
While the bones of the story (the hero, the quest, the maiden) are traditional, Gaiman offers a tale that is fresh and original. Though the plot begins with disparate threads, by the end they are all tied together and the picture is complete. The resolution is satisfying and complex, proving that there is more to fairy tales than "happily ever after."
added by Shortride | editSchool Library Journal, Susan Salpini
This is a refreshingly creative story with appealing characters that manages to put a new twist on traditional fairy-tale themes.
added by Shortride | editLibrary Journal, Laurel Bliss
Gaiman gently borrows from many fine fantasists--for starters, from Andersen, Tolkien, Macdonald, and, for the framing device, Christina Rossetti in her "Goblin Market" --but produces something sparkling, fresh, and charming, if not exactly new under the sun. Superb.
a comic romance, reminiscent of James Thurber's fables, in which even throwaway minutiae radiate good-natured inventiveness. There are dozens of fantasy writers around reshaping traditional stories, but none with anything like Gaiman's distinctive wit, warmth, and narrative energy. Wonderful stuff, for kids of all ages.
Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root, Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot, Teach me to hear mermaids singing, Or to keep off envy's stinging, And find What wind Serves to advance an honest mind. If thou be'st born to strange sights, Things invisible to see, Ride ten thousand days and nights, Till age snow white hairs on thee, Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me, All strange wonders that befell thee, And swear, No where Lives a woman true and fair. If thou find'st one, let me know, Such a pilgrimage were sweet; Yet do not, I would not go, Though at next door we might meet, Though she were true, when you met her, And last, till you write your letter, Yet she Will be False, ere I come, to two, or three. - John Donne, 1572-1631
Dedication
For Gene and Rosemary Wolfe
First words
There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart’s Desire.
There was once a young man who wished to win his Heart's Desire.
Quotations
Have been unavoidably detained by the world. Expect us when you see us.
Last words
She says nothing at all, but simply stares upward into the dark sky and watches, with sad eyes, the slow dance of the infinite stars.
The illustrated and unillustrated versions of Stardust are, in fact, substantially the same text. The most notable differences are that some single paragraphs in the illustrated version are separated into two or three in the unillustrated version.
The only reason to consider the two versions to be separate works (though it is not a bad one) is that Charles Vess's many illustrations are a substantial part of the original version.
In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
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▾Library descriptions
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▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
An enchanting fairy tale by master storyteller Neil Gaiman, full of unexpected adventures, true love, whimsy, wonder, and plenty of magic.
Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—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 stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie...and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man's life.
Standard blue edition of Stardust with 9 illustrations by Charles Vess and signed by illustrator. Cloth and marbled paper with buckram slipcase.
Now, I could seriously do without the unicorn scene with the witch. That made my stomach turn because I can't handle violence against animals (even though I'm perfectly fine with the most twisted of slayings when it comes to people).
The next paragraph contains SPOILERS for the ending. Read at your own risk.
Although it was a beautiful story, with a beautiful ending all wrapped up nicely in a silver ribbon, I can't help feeling... hurt by the epilogue. It just sucks that she has to live forever even after Tristran has died. And they couldn't have kids so they didn't have an heir though I imagine it would be even more painful to watch her husband and child die. Still, thinking about her on the rooftop staring sadly up at the moon hurts my heart. And though she wasn't a major player, he didn't say what fate befell Tristans mother, though I imagine time took her, as well. Low key, I wanted Septimus to win the throne lol I was surprised when it was announced that Una was a Stormhold and, as such, so was Tristran.
Overall, such a good read, I'm so happy I picked this up and now I want to go watch the movie again! ( )