Selections from Fragile Things, Volume 4 Book

The marvelous creations found in Fragile Things showcase the unparalleled invention and storytelling brilliance—as well as the terrifyingly dark and entertaining sense of humor—of the incomparable Neil Gaiman. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting, Fragile Things is a gift of literary enchantment from one of the most original writers of our time.

In Selections from Fragile Things, Volume 4 you will find the following stories and poems, sure to thrill and amaze.

Harlequin Valentine
A Harlequin's heart may be easily given, but how will the object of his affection treat his delicate organ?

Locks
In Gaiman's poem a man attempts to tell his daughter the tale of Goldilocks despite her interjections.

The Problem of Susan
A student interviews a professor of children's fiction for a scholarly article, but when the discussion lands on C. S. Lewis' Narnia the conversation becomes quite personal.

Instructions
Real life advice, in poetry form, on what to do if you find yourself in the middle of a fairy tale.

How Do You Think It Feels
An affair with a younger woman leaves a man so despondent that he goes to extraordinary measures to protect his heart from future pain.

My Life
The monologue of a rather mangled sock monkey telling the story of his life, egged on by a couple of beers chased with whiskey.

Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot
Scenes inspired by a supernatural tarot deck whose cards betray surreal and somewhat blood-thirsty characters.

Feeders and Eaters
At a greasy all-night café a man runs into an old acquaintance, now a shriveled version of his once-handsome self. The man cannot escape the gruesome story of his friend's deterioration involving a cat and an old woman with unnaturally long hair.

Diseasemaker's Croup
An imaginary disease in which the afflicted create imaginary diseases, Diseasemaker's Croup takes hypochondria to a new level.