Stardust by Neil Gaiman
This book starts out in the town of Wall in England. The Faerie Market is about to begin just outside the gates. Dunstan Thorn, a very ordinary farmer, meets a beautiful and beguiling slave at the market and she gives him a glass snowdrop. Dunstan marries and ordinary girl from Wall but receives a baby in a basket that he conceived with the slave. He names the baby Tristran. We then skip ahead 18 years. Tristran is in love with the town beauty and pledges to find and deliver a fallen star in exchange for her hand in marriage. The adventure begins. Tristran takes off into Faerie to discover many new things. Including, but not limited to, the star is a ethereal girl with the name Yvaine. I love Neil Gaiman's stories and this is no exception. I love that he includes nursery rhymes and interprets them literally. The first we come across is "How many miles to Babylon?"
How many miles to Babylon?
Three score miles and ten.
Can I get there by candle-light?
Yes, and back again.
If your heels are nimble and light,
You may get there by candle-light.
Tristran uses this rhyme and a candle to cover months worth of walking in just a few steps. He also throws in "The Lion and the Unicorn."
The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.
We are introduced to the Unicorn that the moon sends to assist Yvaine and Tristran. The lion and Unicorn were fighting and Tristran steps in as the lion goes in for the kill. Incidentally, the rhyme is about the English Coat of Arms, so naturally I love it. The adventure is a good one; filled with intrigue, faries, ghosts, poison, a race to get the "treasure" and a ship that floats. The twist is a good, though foreseeable, one. In any worthwhile fairy story, things are not what they seem and people are not who you think they are. So, of course, she is not JUST a slave girl. Tristran is not JUST a heart sick teenager, foolishly chasing rainbows (or stars). If this were a story told around a campfire, I would have come away with a euphoric feeling of having just had a magnificent experience. Since it was a book, I am left feeling a bit discontented. I had a similar occurrence after reading Neverwhere. I wanted something more out of it. There were so many wonderful ideas! I wanted to know more about the Lilim. Who were they, what were they once? What about this Castle Fellowship? I understand they were protecting the heir but who are the others? How did they know about him? How did it start? And Captain Alberic and the Perdita!! An airborne ship that harvests lightening?! Fantastic! But I need more! I was left wondering about the Stormhold and Una and wanted a bit of a back story there. What happened with Madam Semele/Ditchwater Sal in her past? And that strange inclusion at the end about Tristran breaking the power of the Unseelie court? More on that as well, if you don't mind Mr. Gaiman. All in all, I enjoyed this book. Would recommend it and read it again. He is an amazing story teller and a talented writer. An extra hundred pages would have made him a genius.
P.S. This is a picture of the Fairy Market by Charles Vess in a 2007 edition of the book. Wish I would have read that one!!
The above image only appeared as b/w endpapers in the 2007 re-issue of the illustrated Stardust (along with 175+ actual paitings).The book was a collaboration between Neil and I and much was left unwritten to be explained wiih the art. The illustrated edition is a bit difficult to find/order but if you use this title you can find it: Stardust, Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie'.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the reply! I had no idea about the origins of the book. I read this as part of a book club and think I will obtain copies of the illustrated edition for our discussion. Your artwork is beautiful! Thank you again for sharing!
ReplyDeleteExciting!
ReplyDeleteIs this a book you actually have to read - or can I lisen to it? Sounds enchanting!
ReplyDeleteYou can listen :)
ReplyDelete