Book of the Week: Stardust, Neil Gaiman
Tea of the Week: Green Tea with Superantioxidents from Yogi
Excerpt:
“He straightened his shoulders, placed the crystal snowdrop in the top buttonhole of his coat, now undone. And, to ignorant to be scared, too young to be awed, Tristran Thorn passed beyond the fields we know . . .
. . . and into Faerie,”(Gaiman 54)
What happens when you combine high fantasy and a plot-twisting romance?
You end up with Gaiman’s classic novel Stardust.
In the quiet village of Wall, nothing of the unexpected happens. No adventures, or quests are to be found here.
No sir, not at all.
I mean, until Tristran Thorn promises the love of his life, Victoria, that if he were to bring a fallen star to her, then they are to be wedded. But to do so, he must enter the mystical realm beyond the old stone wall. Faerie-where nothing is expected and where witches do the wicked and brothers are the kill’d.
I would highly recommend to read this novel because it gives a nostalgic feeling that makes your chest grow warm and fuzzy all over. It pulls you in and your mind is thrown into the world of Faerie, full of never ending and mystifying stories. And then you finish exploring the world with a different look on your life.
It gets you to think about life, for a main theme in this book is that things that people search for may be closer than they expected. And another, is that although this is a high fantasy book, it includes themes that can relate to our modern world. The theme of love conquers all is clearly shown, but this common theme is developed into deeper meanings throughout the plot. When it shows two characters that have lots of internal and external conflict, it also shows them supporting the other when times get hard. It shows them disagreeing, and arguing.
What I love is that he makes this type of love realistic. He doesn’t make them fall in love at first sight, nor does he make them a perfect happy couple, where they agree on everything. He makes their relationship realistic.
And romantic love, isn’t the only type of love that is shown. Gaiman writes the platonic love between friends in a manner that makes me wish I had it. He makes the characters so that none of them are completely evil, or completely good. He has the ability to make you pity a character, and then the next minute think that they are a complete idiot.
With this novel, the reader has to take note of small details, for some of them hint at the ending. And with all the different plot lines, it may get confusing, so read carefully, because the unexpected might just become expected within the lines of this novel.
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