Diana Wynne-Jones. Jack Kirby. Douglas Adams. These are just
a few of the artists that Neil Gaiman lovingly tackles in the essays included
within The View from the Cheap Seats—a
fairly comprehensive (though it states “selected non-fiction”) of Gaiman’s nonfic
work.
Divided into thematic sections that include essays on music,
comic books, films, fairy tales, and more, the book feels mostly like a love
letter to the things that Gaiman finds most wonderful about writing, reading,
and taking part in the world. I’ve always loved Gaiman’s introductions to his
own books, there’s a sense of humor, playfulness, and kindness always in the
intros Gaiman weaves, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing these same things applied
to such a wide array of subjects.
Of course, that being said, I might be one of the perfect
kinds of audiences for this collection—the people, texts, and subjects, that
Gaiman writes about are some of the people, texts, and subjects, that have
meant the most to me throughout my life. His essays on Diana Wynne-Jones (and
on her book Dogsbody) made me tear
up. His intro to Jim Steinmeyer’s Art and
Artifice (one of the few Steinmeyer’s I hadn’t read or, really even heard
of) made me go out and immediately order it. And that’s one of Gaiman’s
greatest skills as a non-fiction author: he always sounds like he’s telling a
story to a friend, he’s telling you about this book or author or piece of music
that meant so much to him and he’s telling it in such a way that you have to
believe him.
If there is a slight issue with the book, it’s a small one
for me, it’s that occasionally some of the essays feel slightly
repetitive—sometimes in subject matter, but also, often, in tone. Tone is what
makes these essays individually so wonderful, but when reading bunches of them
at once it can also feel less engaging as a whole.
Still, I’d highly recommend this to anyone interested in
speculative genres (if you’re well read in the field—you’ll be reading
excellent essays about things you
already know and love, if you’re less well read in the field then you’ll be
reading about things you probably want to know and love), comic books, or, of
course, Neil Gaiman’s work itself. These are often beautifully written essays
that make one glad to be in a world of books and art.
The Math
Baseline Assessment: 9/10
Bonuses: +1 for the heartfelt odes to some truly great artists
Penalties: -1 for repetitiveness, -1 if you’re a Gaiman fan but not very into speculative fiction as a whole
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 “well worth your time and attention”
Baseline Assessment: 9/10
Bonuses: +1 for the heartfelt odes to some truly great artists
Penalties: -1 for repetitiveness, -1 if you’re a Gaiman fan but not very into speculative fiction as a whole
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10 “well worth your time and attention”
Reference:
Gaiman, Neil. The View from the Cheap Seats [William Morrow, 2016]
POSTED BY: Chloe, speculative fiction fan in all forms, monster theorist, and Nerds of a Feather blogger since 2016.
