goldtop London, United Kingdom

Disappointed as I had so enjoyed Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. This one felt a lot more laboured. Extensive research squeezed into and around the actual narrative of thing. The social history was fascinating - had never heard of Victoria Woodhull or Elizabeth Cady Stanton and their work before - but the sheer amount of it hindered the flow of the story I think.

Not as good as Labyrinth, although got into it and was gripped at the end (yay!).

The style of writing was a bit odd; I know one of the characters was contemporary American, but really, some of the descriptions were bordering on Romance novel style and language overly Americanised in her sections.

Do I need to know how lithe and slender the girl is when it has no bearing whatsoever on the story? or what label her cardigan, make of phone etc? Unless of course it was one of those sponsored mentions (which worked btw - I can remember it was an Abercrombie & Fitch cardi - Oh dear...)

Neither a fan of biography, nor particularly of animals, so this book was received somewhat luke-warmly... However, I loved it!

Ascerbic wit (from the 'monkey' himself no less!), glamorous scandal in 30s Hollywood, and ultimately a v poignant tale of - unrequited- friendship. I admit I had tears in my eyes at the end... Brilliant novel.

Definitely the best kind!. Gaiman say he sets out to give adults a story with the same kind of fantastic (in the old sense) as The Lion, Witch & The Wardrobe and easily succeeds.

Goodness knows what the US version is like without the (black) humour though, as this is part and parcel of the writing for me. He must have ripped his hair out with frustration at the American editing (*not more than one emotion at a time Mr Gaiman, our readers will not cope* - argh!).