Stardust is one of my favourite books ever, and by far the best thing that Neil Gaiman has written. I like his fairy tales (this, and Neverwhere and the Sandman stories) better than the (relatively) more conventional novels (Anansi Boys, American Gods). I don’t even know how many times I have read it.
Stardust is a fairy tale for adults. It starts in the village of Wall, which borders Faerie. A young man of the village, intent to woo a young woman, promises to bring her the star they both see fall in Faerie. Because he is by far not the only one to want that star, the quest turns out to be harder and take longer than he plans, and of course he goes through all sorts of adventures on his way – evil witches, magical objects, ghosts, long-lost princes, good deeds by strange strangers and all that.
And just as most traditional fairy tales – which were originally not aimed at children at all – this one definitely has moments that are not suited to small children. Cute animals die violent deaths, as do some less cute people.
Even though the book is small and short, even though it always retains its fairy tale feel, it is more complex by far than the traditional fairy tales. Gaiman moves smoothly from romance to horror to adventure. And the story meanders with him: there is no straightforward “boss battle” at the end, and the main characters aren’t even aware of all the dangerous forces surrounding them.
Character development also gets more attention than in a traditional fairy tale. They are complex, their emotions and relationships are non-trivial, and they learn and develop over time. The hero is neither a standard plucky-youngest-son-of-poor-peasant nor a standard courageous-dragon-slaying-prince. The heroine is not a gentle helpless maiden waiting to be rescued.
In addition, minor characters and conflicts are introduced and abandoned left and right. It gives the impression that this is a big world, of which we only see parts, and there just isn’t time to tell everyone’s story.
Somehow the book feels like poetry. This is the kind of fairy tale that makes me want to abandon my life and go on a quest in Faerie.
I re-read it now because we just acquired an illustrated version, with fabulous pictures by Charles Vess. In fact it isn’t fair to say that the book has pictures, because the pictures are an integral part and get as much loving attention as the text. For an adult book, this is pretty exceptional. If you are going to buy this book, do make sure you get the illustrated version – the pictures lifted the reading experience to a whole new level.
A movie adaptation of Stardust is on its way, and Neil Gaiman himself is happy about it and I cannot wait to see it.
“Cute animals die violent deaths”. Ok, I’m ordering a copy now.