Sandman: The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman

The Dream Hunters is the first book I have read this year that I would recommend that everyone should own a copy of. What a special book. It's quite a beautiful tale told through the lustrous words of Neil Gaiman and the amazing oil paintings and charcoal sketches of Yoshitaka Amano. Both are among my favorite artists of today, Neil being one of my favorite authors and Amano my favorite artist.

The Dream Hunters is Neil's version of a Japanese folk tale called The Fox, The Monk, and the Mikado of All Night's Dreaming. It is the story of a solitary monk who tends a temple on the side of a mountain in Japan. One day, a fox and a badger decide to fool the monk into leaving the temple so that they may make it their home. Though they fail in doing so, the fox falls in love with the monk in trying and transforms into a woman.

While back in fox form, the fox one day over hears a group of demons speaking of plans for the monk's death. The monk will have 3 dreams. In the first he will dream of a box, in the second, a key, and in the third, the key will open the box. When the box is opened, the monk will be caught in the world of dreams and will therefore starve and thirst to death leading to his death. The fox goes to the King of All Night's Dreaming to try to help her monk.

This was one of my favorite Neil Gaiman work's that I've read. The whole book was such a moving experience. The tale was beautiful. Neil was able to keep the feel of a traditional Japanese folk tale. Amano's artwork never ceases to amaze me. There's no artist like this man. So much emotion and detail captured in his paintings. Amano and Gaiman work together perfectly. As I mentioned earlier, I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this tale. It's a fairly quick read at 126 pages and is a pleasure to read. This one pulls at the heart strings and paints a world that the reader can get lost in. Enjoy.

Shtuff...

I received my books from Jason at Second Chance Book Adoption today and I must say, I was so very pleasantly surprised. Not only did I get 4 books in beautiful like new condition, but three of them were signed by the authors! Went back and looked at past books I bought from him and 2 of the Chuck Palahniuk books were signed as well. Today I got Someplace to be Flying, signed by Charles DeLint, Girl in Landscape, signed by Jonathan Lethem, and Lullaby signed by Chuck Palahniuk. Good deals.

Speaking of books, Neil Gaiman posted a couple of links to DreamHaven's bookstore website and I found so much cool stuff that I want to buy now! But we're moving in a couple of weeks, so I'll wait until the new address is being lived in. In their "New and Noteworthy" section, they have a story of Ray Bradbury's entitled The Homecoming that is fully illustrated in color by Dave McKean for $14.95, and Gene Wolfe and Lisa Snellings-Clarks Strange Birds for $10.00 (Save me a copy of these two ;) Strange Birds comes signed by Gene Wolfe and Lisa if you request a signed copy. The Sale section has some great deals too, one of which is Yoshitaka Amano's Hero Vol. 1, hardcover for $12.00. I hope these don't all sell out. Dream Haven was apparently broken into a couple of nights ago, and they really need the extra business. So support them!

Speaking of Lisa, I got the second part of my ebay order, another little red poppet, in the mail today. Goes well with my other one, yet unique in it's own way.

A Hodgepodge post

First thing on the list is that I got Neverwhere in the mail today which made me very happy after a very sad day. I don't know when I'll have a chance to watch it, but I'm very much looking forward to it. I can't wait to see if what the novel looked like in my head compares with the mini series. Review to come whenever I get a chance to watch it.

Second thing is sort of a question to the general public. I've learned that identity crises/disorders are alot more common in children than I thought. I've seen a couple of children with identity issues pertaining to gender. I was wondering if anyone knows a good book that explains gender identity in children so that I can read up on it a bit. I know that it can come from many things, but a book may aid in helping me help others with these issues. What frustrates me is when the parent thinks that their child has something wrong with them and makes their child feel guilty when the child is just trying to figure out who he or she is. My guess is that sometimes, the parent(s) may actually be the cause of a child's identity crisis. If I could find a good book on the topic, it would also be able to give me something to suggest to the parents of a child with an identity crisis so that the parent can understand it a little bit better.

In a somewhat related topic, I was told by one of the social workers that a good book to recommend for effective parenting and disciplinary actions is 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2-12 by Thomas Phelan.

And as a reward for your efforts, here is a beautiful painting by one of my favorite artists, Yoshitaka Amano: