It seems wrong and somewhat sad that my favorite Gaiman book is not one of his many heralded novels, but a collection of short stories. Mind you,
Fragile Things is a great collection of short stories!
Some of the content herein is much more "adult" than a good deal of his other work, which can tend towards the childlike and fanciful. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the fantastical stuff with its focus on the magic of youth and mystery of the unknown. But I think I prefer his short story work because it seems more well-crafted and honed to a higher perfection than some of his full length novels, which feel a bit loose at times.
In summation, here is my newspaper book review title for this: "Gaiman's
Fragile Things Is Strong Stuff"....*shakes head*....horrible...horrible.