Before Stardust, I had never read a Neil Gaiman book. They had been on my list for a long time, but gaining access to his books was proving tricky. Eventually, I decided to put everything else aside and pick one up. I've seen the film adaptation of Coraline and loved it. I watched part of Stardust and couldn't finish it. It was too random, so I decided to pick up the book before giving the film another try. While you're here, you should also check out our review on the film version of Stardust too. So, from a new Gaiman readers perspective, here's what I thought to Stardust.
This book follows three seemingly unrelated story archs that are all interlinked by one focus: finding the fallen star. Tristran is searching for it to present to the girl he is infatuated with; the witches want the heart of the star to regain their youth; and the Lords wish to find the star for a jewel that she has so they can be the next ruler of their land. The star is actually a young girl who Tristran has to drag home as she refuses to go anywhere with her captor. The three Lords' lives are constantly in danger and the witches prove to be sly and mischievous.
The story is highly imaginative, but this is not truly shown until the very end when all the supposed loose ends are tied together neatly and causes many moments of clarity as the overall storyline fuses together. It was a clever strategy and made the tale make sense. However, this did make it difficult to read at times as the story did not always appear to be going anywhere quickly and so I had to force myself to keep reading to find out what the fuss was all about; the ending made it worth while though.
Gaiman's writing in this book was very simplistic and easy to read, making this ideal for any age to enjoy. It made the pages fly by when motivated to read it and the book was soon finished. I struggled to connect with the writing myself but this is a personal preference. Many readers seem to enjoy his writing style. If you're in the mood for an easy, yet imaginative, read, Gaiman is the way to go.
The way Gaiman averted the stereotype about Pirates was surprising. When Tristran and the Star meet some pirates, more action and hostile behaviour was expected but this was a pleasant shock as no one likes predictability and this definitely shook the boat. The portrayal of human capability was shocking. This was shown through the witches disregard of anything pure and innocent, such as the Star and the unicorn, as they were selfish, but thankfully, karma bit them in the cauldron eventually! The brother's treatment of their family members was abysmal as it mattered little to them, if anything, it hindered them. Finally, Tristran's deadly quest was in the name of lust. These characters all displayed a deadly sin and ones that normal every day people will possess. The witches were greedy, proud of their youthful appearances, and wrathful. The brothers suffered from gluttony as they only had power and status on their minds, wrath and pride; and Tristran was lustful. Though a short book, Gaiman managed to slip in plenty of moral lessons for those who read between the lines.
Tristran does not appear to be the smartest character as it is continuously hinted, directly to him and by many different characters, that his heritage is not normal, and yet he never picks up on this. He never questions anyone until the end, and just thinks it is an odd remark to make. When finally confronted with the truth, he barely reacts, making the build up anti-climactic as he just accepts the fact and acts like all is normal. This seems unrealistic as most people would have quite a more dramatic reaction to the news he received.
The one thing I felt was lacking in this book was mentions of the small hairy man. I don't know why, but I felt there was a lot more potential to the man. Perhaps it was the Narnia-esque quality he leant to the tale, and I do love my Narnia books!
The story is enjoyable and makes a lot of sense once finished. The ending itself felt very bittersweet but was satisfactory and I had a smile on my face as I read the last few pages. Though Gaiman's writing style, at least in Stardust, is not my usual cup of tea, I already have Coraline waiting to be read extremely soon as Gaiman is a born storyteller.