A Reluctant Goodbye
January 16, 2007So, after spending several thousand pesoses, I finally completed my Sandman collection. 
It may seem to be a foolhardy achievement for some, and a waste of money for others but I don't really regret spending for comic books graphic novels.
The series is great, one of the best I've read, and that includes "normal" books. Neil Gaiman creates textured, multi-faceted characters. Under his hands, the characters come into life. The series, from "Preludes and Nocturnes" up to "The Wake" grip the reader and involves him/her in the lives of Lyta Hall, William Shakespeare, Hobb Gadling, Morpheus himself, and others. Reading the last book, I felt a sense of loss that a great series has ended.
"The Dream Hunter" is different, though Morpheus also appears in it. It is more of a retold Japanese tale with a Gaiman touch. The prose is like a haiku, spare but evocative. You almost don't need the exquisitely sublime images. Several times, I felt like dropping the book, get down on my knees and sing paeans to Gaiman. grabe talaga
Previous Comments
Gaiman, I think, is anything but spare. Almost the opposite of someone like, say, Raymond Carver, or Hemingway. The strength of his writing draws from his skillful manipulation of various myths and somehow combining them all seamlessly.
It’s funny how you don’t seem to completely comprehend a writer whom you gush over so much. As you said, you feel like getting ‘down on (your) knees and sing paeans (!) to Gaiman.’
PS
Did you really have to use ‘paeans?’ Anyway, excellent word choice! You’ve successfully utilized a thousand-peso word into a ten-peso hole; that takes skill. Trust me, I could never do it. One more reason why you’re a much better writer than I am.
Cheers.
Posted by rA.dOt at July 12, 2007, 11:38 pmAll comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
i know somebody just like you. ’smatter of fact, he lets me borrow some of his vols. sometimes (Sandman, etc.). and i’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind spending that much on his precious collection either…
i have had my doubts about his sanity for some time now nyahaha, but after reading your post… well, let’s just say he seems more ‘normal’ to me now — and i mean that in a good way (he’ll probably skin me alive when he reads this though)
gaiman is pretty much above his contemporaries in this sense because he has a way of combining certain elements from classical and popular mythologies and spin them into this potent mix of storytelling…
Posted by onyxx at January 17, 2007, 10:50 pm