''Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders'' is a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and poetry by English author Neil Gaiman. It was published in the US and UK in 2006 by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

and Headline Review. Most of the stories in this book are reprints from other sources: magazines, anthologies, and even CD sleeves. Gaiman says in the

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

that the original title for the collection was ''These People Ought to Know Who We Are and Tell That We Were Here'', after a word balloon in a ''

Little Nemo in Slumberland Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...

'' strip. This exact line also appears in the text for the included short story "Bitter Grounds".

* "The Mapmaker" – a very short story included in the book's introduction, originally written for '' American Gods'' * "

A Study in Emerald "A Study in Emerald" is a short story written by British fantasy and graphic novel author Neil Gaiman. The story is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche transferred to the Cthulhu Mythos universe of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. Gaiman describes it as ...

" – a Sherlock Holmes/ Cthulhu Mythos pastiche written for the anthology '' Shadows Over Baker Street'' * "The Fairy Reel" – a short lyric poem * "October in the Chair" – dry run for ''

The Graveyard Book ''The Graveyard Book'' is a young adult novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America in 2008. ''The Graveyard Book'' traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and reared by the s ...

,'' inspired by the work of Ray Bradbury * "The Hidden Chamber" – gothic poem about Bluebeard for the anthology '' Outsiders'' * "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" – gothic story published in the anthology '' Gothic!'' * "The Flints of Memory Lane" – a real life ghost story * "Closing Time" – a club story / ghost story inspired by

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

and

Robert Aickman Robert Fordyce Aickman (27 June 1914 – 26 February 1981) was an English writer and conservationist. As a conservationist, he co-founded the Inland Waterways Association, a group which has preserved from destruction and restored England's inl ...

* "Going Wodwo" – a poem about a wild man in the woods for the anthology ''The Green Man'' * "Bitter Grounds" – written for the anthology '' Mojo: Conjure Stories'' * "Other People" – originally titled ''Afterlife'' * "Keepsakes and Treasures: A Love Story" – began as a comic for

Oscar Zarate Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

's collection, '' It's Dark in London'' illustrated by

Warren Pleece Warren Pleece is a British comics artist. He is best known for his work at the DC Comics imprint Vertigo and the 2012–16 Irish novel series '' Zom-B''. Biography Warren, with his brother Gary Pleece, wrote and drew three issues of a self-pub ...

. Contains the characters Mr. Alice and Mr. Smith, a pair of dubious men who also appeared in a Gaiman novella called ''The Monarch of the Glen'', suggesting that this tale is a part of the ''American Gods'' universe as well. * "Good Boys Deserve Favors" – inspired by a statue by Lisa Snellings-Clark of a man holding a double bass * "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" – inspired by a painting by

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He i ...

of a savage woman flanked by tigers. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review. * "Strange Little Girls" – twelve very short stories to accompany

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

's CD '' Strange Little Girls'' * " Harlequin Valentine" – written for ''Strange Attraction'', a book based on a Ferris wheel made by Lisa Snellings-Clark * "Locks" – a conversational poem editing the tale of

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest hom ...

* " The Problem of Susan" – written for the anthology ''Flights'' by

Al Sarrantonio Al Sarrantonio (born May 25, 1952) is an American horror and science fiction writer, editor and publisher who has authored more than 50 books and 90 short stories. He has also edited numerous anthologies and has been called "brilliant" and " ...

, written in response to the character Susan in ''

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

'' * "Instructions" – a poem giving instructions about what to do when you find yourself in a fairy tale, later republished as a picture book * "How Do You Think It Feels?" – story inspired by gargoyles, in this case protecting the heart. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review * "My Life" – a monologue written to accompany a picture of a sock monkey in the photography book '' Sock Monkeys'' by Arne Svenson * "Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot" – not present in the British paperback from Headline Review * "Feeders and Eaters" – based on a nightmare of Neil Gaiman's, it first took the form of a comic and later the outline for a pornographic horror film * "Diseasemaker's Croup" – written for the book '' The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases'' edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Mark Roberts * "In the End" – imagined as the last book of the Bible. Not present in the British paperback from Headline Review. * "Goliath" – set in the Matrix universe and included with ''

The Matrix Comics ''The Matrix Comics'' is a set of comics and short stories based on ''The Matrix'' film series and written and illustrated by figures from the comics industry. One of the comics was written by the Wachowskis and illustrated by the films' concept a ...

'' Vol. 1 * "Pages from a Journal Found in a Shoebox Left in a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

Bus Somewhere Between

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, and

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

" – written for the album '' Scarlet's Walk'', by

* "

How to Talk to Girls at Parties "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is a science fiction short story written in 2006 by Neil Gaiman. It is about a couple of British 1970s teen-aged boys, Enn and Vic, who go to a party to meet girls, only to find that the girls are very differe ...

" – nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and won the

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

for Best Short Story * "The Day the Saucers Came" - short narrative poem about the end of the world * "Sunbird" – written as a birthday present for Neil Gaiman's daughter, a story in the style of R. A. Lafferty * "Inventing Aladdin" – a poem depicting the invention of stories, in this case, Aladdin * ''The Monarch of the Glen'' – a novella-length sequel to Gaiman's novel '' American Gods'' inspired by Beowulf and set in remote areas of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

The four stories not included in the British edition are included in the British edition of ''

Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and mirrors is a classic technique in magical illusions that makes an entity appear to hover in empty space. It was documented as early as 1770 and spread widely after its use by the charlatan Johann Georg Schröpfer, who claimed the app ...

''.

Awards

''Fragile Things'' won the 2007

for Best Collection, and "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" won for Best Short Story and was nominated for a Hugo Award. Other Locus Award winners included in this collection are "Sunbird" (2006 short story), "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" (2005 short story), "A Study in Emerald" (2004 novelette, and also winner of the 2004

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction o ...

), "Closing Time" (2004 short story), and "October in the Chair" (2003 short story).Locus Award Nominees List
, retrieved 19 June 2007.

References

{{reflist

External links

A Study in EmeraldHow To Talk To Girls At Parties
Fantasy short story collections 2006 short story collections Short story collections by Neil Gaiman HarperCollins books

Contents

Awards

References

External links