BOOK REVIEWS

STARDUST: BECOME A BELIEVER 

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman, is the most charming book I've read in ages, a fairy tale for adults, with all the requisite elements and a sense of humor on top of it all

The story begins in a town called Wall, outside of which is a meadow where, once every nine years, the world of faerie comes to have a fair which mortals may attend. Dunstan, a resident of Wall, gives shelter to two supernatural creatures and in repayment is given a gift: he will achieve his heart's desire. And not only he, but his firstborn child, and that child's firstborn child, and on and on. Dunstan meets a lovely fairy woman, held captive by an evil witch, purchases a rare crystal flower to bring back to his girlfriend at home. He dallies with the fairy woman, and in due course a child, Tristan Thorn, is left in Wall, to be raised by Dunstan and his wife.

The heart of the story is Tristan's,. Madly in love with an obviously heartless girl, he rashly promises to bring her the star they've seen fall, even though the star has fallen on the other side of the wall, where no one goes between fairs. To her surprise, he takes his promise seriously, and heads out to find the star and return it.

Of course, he's not the only one who's seen the falling star, nor is he the only one who wants it. He wants it (or rather, her, because on this side of the wall, the fallen star is a person, a lovely but very strong-willed young woman) to fulfill his promise, but an evil witch wants the star's heart to give her and her sisters their youth back, and a group of murderously bickering princes want the jewel the star is carrying so that they can determine who is the true heir to the kingdom.

During Tristan's journey with the star, there are echoes of his father's encounters with the world of faerie, and as the plot lines intertwine and the various characters scheme and intercept each other, the book takes on a life of its own.

I wouldn't dream of spoiling the ending of a book as wonderful as this. Tristan is naïve and loving, as all good fairy tale heroes should be, and the star develops into a caring person in the course of her time with Tristan. Mysteries are revealed, evil spells are foiled, and even the heartless girl from the village gets what she deserves.

The characters are sprightly, the writing effervescent, and the plot twists unexpected. The book is charming and delightful, even to those of us with relatively cynical hearts. Read Stardust and believe in magic.