The Sleeper and the Spindle

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt, Lara Pulver, Niamh Walsh, Adjoa Andoh, Peter Forbes, John Sessions, Michael Maloney

Length: 1 hr and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this captivating and darkly funny tale, Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell have twisted together the familiar and the new as well as the beautiful and the wicked to tell a brilliant version of Snow White's (sort of) and Sleeping Beauty's (almost) stories.This story was originally published in Rags & Bones.

©2013, 2014 Neil Gaiman (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

So sad it was so short tho.

Who could deny Neil Gaiman? Fitting the pieces of the puzzles together and finally putting names on the characters at the end is so satisfying. This is definitely a nice twist to the popular fairy tale... or tales o v <

A beautiful short story with and unexpected twist.

If you could sum up The Sleeper and the Spindle in three words, what would they be?

Magical, sometimes creepy and dark but inspiring.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

All of the performances were wonderful, they really brought the story to life. I can't imagine a score more perfect for Gaiman's material.

Fairyland turns dark...

One thing I know for sure... Neil Gaiman can write. His wonderful imaginative mind creeps out of this short story like crimson roses growing round the castle...

Don't be mistaken by the book description, this is an adult story and if you are not expecting a fairy tale, and know how to laugh, you will enjoy it.

Not sure if it is a good value for money, as the story is very short, however if you are a Gaiman then addict you will love it.

The narration is very dramatic and of high standard. I could easily imagine it as a theatre piece. Perfectly enjoyable.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

Hmmm ... too fractured, not enough plot, a pity the story was so short as it could have been filled with much more substance, adventure & been more captivating.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

splendid as usual. Neil is best.

I loved it. Neil is the best. Fantastic cast. Splendid fairytale worth listing. Have fun .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting mix of the fairy tales we know.

I like how the combination of the fairy tales were put together in this lovely story.

Beautifully Dark

Stunning, Shocking and twisted retelling of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.
Neil Gaiman is a genius. This amazing tale is just a taster of what he can achieve.
He is definately up there with Clive Barker and Stephen King.

The Sleeper and The Spindle.

I throughly enjoyed this audiobook. The story was well written and the cast voices were perfect and the backing music fit the story perfectly. The story was lovely and had an incredible twist ending which surprised me. I will definitely recommend and listen to this again!

Magical!

An enchanting reworking of a well-known fairy story. Surprising and thought-provoking it keeps you guessing the outcome right to the end. Beautifully performed.

expensive

I found it costly for a shor story even though it is a great short story!

Gaiman's usual brilliance

I love a full cast narration when done well, and this was amazing. As usual with Neil Gaiman there is nothing lazy or complacent about the story and it is not the normal style of fairy tale imagining. I listened to this while walking the dog on a sunny day but my blood ran cold at some of the imagery. I thought I knew which way the story was heading but completely missed it. My only complaint is that it was too short and I wanted more.

Lots of frills but not thrills

Producing an illustrated story as an audiobook is always going to be a challenge as the pictures compliment the text, so I did wonder how this would turn out. In truth, it is a worthy effort and not without merit. Using a cast instead of a single a narrator helps bring the text alive, which is vital when you are denied Chris Riddell's exquisite illustrations.

The text itself is beautifully crafted with knowing little nods here and there, to the extent that the characters seem almost self-aware of their involvement in this modern fairy tale. However, for me, the problem lies in the overall story. It could be described as shallow; it seemed to lack any depth. The adversity was overcome with little challenge and the story was driven more by narrative than plot. There were no sub-plots, no clever twists, nothing apart from the skill of the wordsmith to keep you hooked. If it hadn't been Mr Gaiman writing this story I rather suspect it would never have been published as it is because it is like the meat lacking a skeleton.