Review: Smokes and Mirrors

At first, I was pretty bored about this Sunday thing. Well, by starting this blog, many ideas poped out like magic. And as they appeared, they vanished as well. But one thing kept me in the random thoughts, a book, that I had in mind every since I read it, about 8 months ago.

Well, I was astonished by the author powers of making so many mistery in such short histories, and every since I got to finish it I couldn't stop buying his books.

The book is Smokes and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman. I could say that it was pretty pleasent reading it, but it wouldn't be enough, I had to tell someone about it, about the author, about how amazed I was and how it grabbed my attention so much that I would read it in anywhere. And I mean it.

So my quest began, first I tried to get my brother to read it, since he was the first one who showed me a book from NG (American Gods), but he was so focused in his university affairs that he simply said he couldn't. Then, I moved to my friends. First I said to Renan, well he ignored me completly first, and then said he would read it if I borrowed it to him, but my memory is weak and I keep forgeting to do it. So I told to a friend in the US, Vanna and she bought Anansi Boys and loved it, but couldn't find Smokes and Mirrors.

Well I keep trying to make someone read it but my efforts are an EPIC FAIL. But now I have a blog, so I can just decribe it in here and force my friends to read it. ;^D

The preface is really funny, not boring at all, and if you don't read it you will loose one short story that is hidden within it. The lenguage that NG uses on his books is simple, it isn't like many other books that had noums that I would have to search on the dictionary, so I could read it acctually read it (since I'm brazillian, I lack of such assortment of vocabulary). Each single story gives you that feeling that you could accutually read more of it, but it never gives you the feeling that it isn't over (something really amazing, if you count how many other writters can't achieve it so often).

Some of the works in the book are cleary based on other authors, because many of then are requests from others writters, publishers, and many other people. Others you have to read twice to get, because it is so subjected that you feel completly lost at once. I have found some great poems (that are stories too) that made me want to sing then, or just make a poem based on them.

It is true when Stephen King said that Neil Gaiman is a treasure chest, and a big example of it is this book, Smokes and Mirros, in which you can find a great amount of stories in many different styles, from mistery and horror, to fables and sci-fi.

The book is cheap (I love pocket books), here in Brazil it didn't cost as much as 15 reais. So I really recomend it to anyone who is intrested in reading. (I don't trust translators so I bought in english)

Keep that in mind.