• Fragile Things

  • By: Neil Gaiman
  • Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (3,454 ratings)

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Fragile Things  By  cover art

Fragile Things

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
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Publisher's summary

A mysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it.

In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters.

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder.

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams and nightmares.

In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird.

Such marvelous creations and more, including a short story set in the world of The Matrix and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction, can be found in this extraordinary collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his entertaining (and dark) sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most unique writers of our time.

©2006 Neil Gaiman (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

  • Locus Award, Best Collection, 2007
  • Audie Award Finalist, Short Stories, Collections, 2007

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What listeners say about Fragile Things

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun

Good group of stories by Gaiman. A very fun novella that picks up at the end of American Gods. To be fair, there were a few stories that I found myself getting rather bored with and easily distracted while listening to them. All told, if you like Gaiman you'll enjoy this book.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Came for more Shadow Moon, loved the rest too

I really wanted to hear Neil read "The Monarch of the Glen" - its been a few years since I first read American Gods and I JUST found out this short story existed. It was nice to see things from Shadow again!

As for the rest of the short stories, some are slow, some don't seem too special. The "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" was nowhere near the star of the book, but I'm sure others disagree!

Standouts for me were "Study in Emerald" "The Problem of Susan" "Feeders and Eaters" and "Goliath".

Anything read by Neil Gaiman is an instant get for me - He is a classic storyteller.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Small treasures

I am a fan, so I had a positive bias going into this book. I was not disappointed. The mixture of stories, snippets and poems was eclectic and entertaining. They all shone with Mr. Gaimans rich descriptions, and were easy to visualize. The only retraction is the authors tendency to drop into a 'singsong' cadence occasionally.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing.

Neil Gaiman is a master at story telling. I have this book and am excited to be able to listen to it on the road. Love the Novela of American Gods due to the Beuwolf aspects.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent author and narrator

I just love the author I can't wait till I can get the sandman 3 I've read all the other ones they're really good all your stories are really good I enjoy them very much.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Neil Delivers as always

Such a lovely and provocitive collection read by the Author as he sets them out as he sees them in his mind. I love The world's and people Gaimam introduces us too and the ones he helps us revisit.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too many young boy stories

Yeah, too many young boy stories having them getting fucked in more ways than one. A bit much for me at this day and time. Some I liked, well only one ShadowMoon yes he is back and it is the only reason I am not returning the book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Love Gaimans short stories

While not as good as Gaimans other short story book Smoke and Mirrors. Fragile Things certainly has several very entertaining stories. The American Gods novela at the end of the book was particularly awesome!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Classic Gaiman!

I love Neil Gaiman and this collection of short stories is so beautiful and enjoyable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fragile things

One of the most mesmerizing set of short stories. I love that niel gammon doesn’t shy from the darkest aspects of human imaginations.

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