Customer Comments

I first heard about this book months ago when I listened to an interview with A.S. Byatt as she talked about it. After the interview, I immediately went online to order The Children's Book but discovered the book wasn't to be released until October. But it was well worth the wait. Fascinated by Victorian children's authors like E. Nesbitt, J.M. Barrie, Kipling, and Kenneth Grahame I am drawn to the story of a Olive Wellwood, an author of children's books, and how destructive it can be to use the lives of one's own children as grist for the mill. Byatt crafts a tale that deals with the power (good and bad) of art, industrialism, and the events that led up to World War I.

A masterful work of magical realism. It shows what happens when the devil arrives in 1930's Moscow with his henchmen, including a talking cat who loves to drink and play chess, and a naked witch. All the while the Master, who's written a novel about Pontious Pilate and Jesus, struggles with despair in a mental institution. In order to save him, his lover, Margarita, decides to sell her soul to the devil. Bulgakov masterfully weaves between these storylines and brings it all to a dizzying conclusion.

It may have taken 23 years since Neil Gaiman first had the idea for The Graveyard Book until he finished it, but this book was well worth the wait. He described this as "The Jungle Book in a graveyard" and just like the book by Kipling, this tale about a young orphaned boy delights, enchants, frightens, and makes the reader want for more. This world is the best of Gaimain with its wit, its creativity, and most of all its humanity (even in nonhuman characters). Each chapter is like a small story unto itself, but they all add up to a complete novel and does not feel like just a group of stories strung together. Neil Gaiman has offered readers a vivid and spellbind fable.

Jane Yolen has crafted a stunning masterpiece of modern fairy tale. She has woven the fairy tale of Briar Rose with the memories of Gemma, a woman who is a complete mystery to her family, and that of her granddaughter Becca. It is only after Gemma's death, that Becca begins to investigate where the truth lies amidst her grandmother's retelling of Briar Rose. Was her grandmother a princess? Who was her prince? Into all of this, Yolen presents a haunting tale of redemption amidst the Holocaust. Like any great fairy tale, this book stayed with me long after I finished reading it.

This is a book that takes a twist on the gothic novel. It is essentially a series of tales within an arc of the story of Lord Baltimore, who while lying wounded from battle during WWI encounters a strange and disturbing carrion. As the tale enfolds, we are presented with tales that are gothic, fairy tale, and, while reminiscent of other tales from folklore, are highly original in the way they're crafted into this novel. Mike Mignola's black and white illustrations only add to the text. It is a fascinating tale of the supernatural.

A highly entertaining read! Set in Victorian London, Julian Barnes creates a mystery that is not only a page turner, but is full of clever and imaginative plot twists that even involve the work of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Edward Moon, the protagonist, is both a conjuror and detective who finds himself involved in a complex mystery that is dark, magical, and highly original. Julian Barnes has written a fascinating novel that makes one long for there to be a sequel.

As with everything he does, Neil Gaiman gives a new twist to folklore and myth in this wonderful story. He takes what could easily be a typical story that deals with Faerie but with his cleverness and humor he makes his tale entirely original. To top the whole book off are the vividly imaginative illustrations by Charles Vess, who is a modern day Rackham. The whole thing would make Lord Dunsany proud.

Delightfully hilarious. Terry Pratchett has crafted a book that offers a wonderfully zany philosophical fantasy novel. While this is the second book in the Discworld series, it builds and exceeds the first one. The back of the book compared him to Vonnegut, Twain, and Douglas Adams. I think Jonathan Swift should be added to that list because Pratchett is a master satirist. He deftly mocks everything from religion to the apocalypse to pop culture. If one hasn't read a Discworld novel before, I recommend The Light Fantastic.

A rich and delightful book that's full of unexpected twists and turns. Un Lun Dun is where lost things go and two girls, Zanna and Deeba, end up there one strange night in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. While it owes a debt to such wonderful books as Alice in Wonderland and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and Coraline, Un Lun Dun is a uniquely original where objects such as umbrellas and milk cartons have a life of their own. While it was written for young readers, this book will appeal to readers of all ages.

A fascinating read. The author writes in the beginning, "Every time an inventor tries to simulate life mechanically, he is in fact accentuating his own mortality." It deals with the uncertainty of the living with the lifelike: humans and automata. Gaby Wood deals with both the fear and awe we have with machines, especially in making them more human. She covers everything from literature, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, to cinema, Metropolis. This book also influenced one of my favorite recent novels The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The definitive edition of Little Nemo. The large pages allow one to really see all of the details of this amazing comic strip. Winsor McKay was a true artist and a pioneer in cartooning. This is a must have for anyone who loves comic strips.

An absolutely beautiful edition of The Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Using drawings from the best fairy tale illustrators and the tales that resonate the most with contemporary readers, Maria Tartar the editor has created a book that is a real keepsake. I highly recommend owning a copy so that you can pass it down to your children.

Winsor McKay's Little Nemo in Slumberland is a masterpiece artistically. Not only are his illustrations beautiful and magical, the narratives have the looseness and fantastic elements of dreams. McKay's influence is profound on more than just cartoons. He has inspired everyone from Maurice Sendak to Neil Gaiman. This edition is complete and glorious in its presentation. A must have!

Pan's Labyrinth was one of the most amazing movies I have seen in years. It was easily the best film of last year. Guillermo Del Toro, the director, did an astonishing job of blending the fairy tale elements together with the violence of Spanish Civil War. It was no easy task to interweave these two worlds and then for them to begin to affect the other. It is a must see!

A delightfully imaginative book. Her short stories have won numerous awards and from reading this book it is easy to see why. Kelly Link brings to mind Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Jorge Luis Borges' fantasy-realism, yet hers is uniquely her own.

This is just one of many great films by Hayao Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke was my introduction into this creative artist's work. Miyazaki does something Hollywood animators have yet to do these days - make an intelligent, imaginative animated film. The script by Neil Gaiman fits well into both men's oeuvres, the struggle between the modern world and the mythological one of ancient gods. I highly recommend this film - and then go on to watch Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle.

A brilliant book full of wonderful illustrations reminiscent of the silent cinema and a story that packs an emotional punch. The writing is poignant and suspenseful. The words are heightened by those profoundly innovative drawings. It is pure movie magic in a book. A must read!

This book was my introduction to the writings of Neil Gaiman and I'm very glad to have found this book. Coraline is one of the most imaginative stories and belongs in the canon of great children's literature. It is filled with twists, nightmarish images, moments of stunning beauty and of dark surprises. This was one of those books that pulled me in and did not let me go. Like other great books, I hated for this one to end.

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller. This is one of the most literate graphic novels ever written. This gorgeous book is full of beautiful illustrations, mythical worlds and characters, and fantastical stories. It also made Time Magazine's Top 10 graphic novels of 2006!

The Alchemist is a beautiful book about following one's dreams and the difficulties that entail staying true to that search. This is a book to read if one is questioning one's purpose in life or doubting one's dream.

One of the most original novels I have ever read. Schulz writes with the same mystical and mythic quality that Marc Chagall paints. The book is poetic and makes me long to return to its pages again and again. Bruno Schulz is a breathtaking and I'm afraid, too often overlooked, writer. He expounds the boundaries of what can be done in literature.

When I first discovered Judy Budnitz's Flying Leap years ago, I wondered how she would ever follow up such an amazingly imaginative collection of short stories. But she has! This is her second collection of short stories and they are just as funny, dark, and creative. She puts me in mind of writers like Gogol and Bruno Schulz, who weave the fantastic into their works with such a naturalness that it does not come across as forced. I highly recommend this collection of stories (along with her first and her novel If I Told You Once).

An exquisite collection of short stories. This was one of those books that I have told everyone I know to read it. Lahiri writes with an elegant and sure voice that draws the reader into her powerful narratives.

A masterful novel by South African novelist J.M. Coetzee. This amazing book captures both the spirit of the novelist Dostoesvky, about whom the novel is written, while at the same time being another insightful depiction of human nature that is totally Coetzee's. A must read!

A heartbreaking story so magnificently and tautly written that one cannot help but be propelled along with the story. This is a book that is destined to become a literary classic.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a brilliant first novel that tells the story of two rival magicians in 19th century England. As well as a fascinating tale of magic and folklore,this book is a great comedy of manners. It is complex and imaginative. A real fantasy story for grown-ups.