MirrorMask audiobook

I can't believe I hadn't read this one till now! I really enjoyed it. It was imaginative, quick and fun. It did remind me a little bit of Coraline, maybe with a dash of Stardust? (I'm only guessing, sad to say I haven't read it yet, only seen the movie but the feel was similar). If you haven't read much of Neil Gaiman, you're missing out. Just about everything he publishes is fantastic. He's one of my top 3 favorite authors for sure!

This is an extraordinarily imaginative tale, created by the genius of Neil Gaiman, complete with circus performers, a magic mirror, a spoiled princess and control-freak queen, sentient buildings, books with the advice one needs at the necessary moment, a dying mother and a very sad daughter. Helena was born into the life of a travelling circus performer. Yet, she wishes for normality. After a particularly explosive argument with her mother, she made an irretrievable declaration that she at once regretted. Shortly afterward, her mother becomes very ill. One night, Helena awakes to find herself in the City of Light and doppelganger to a spoiled princess from the Land of Shadow. The princess stole a special mirror from the City of Light which allowed her to take over Helena's life. The loss of this mirror, called the mirrormask, is plunging the City of Light into darkness. The prime minister of the City asks for Helena's help. The only way to stop the princess from ruining the world is to find the mirrormask from the princesses chambers in the Land of Shadows. Helena is aided in her quest by a juggler named Valentine and a flying book of information. Very entertaining, creative and touching. Recommended read.

Absolutely one of my new favourite books of all time!! Beautifully written and wonderfully illustrated. Neil Gaiman, as always, is a brilliant genius. Plus, as such a small book, it makes an amazing palette-cleanser. I will live in the same place of my heart where Le Petit Prince resides.

Good short story. The graphic novel aspect was a little too artsy for me.

This is an illustrated version of a short story written by Gaiman which was made into a low-key movie of the same name. He has collaborated with the artist-director-illustrator. It is a kids-YA fantasy story of a girl whose family runs a travelling circus and are all performers in it. She is going through the motions and the growing pains as she has conflicts within her dysfunctional family of jugglers and acrobats when she is sucked into the world of dreams which are a way to cope and deal with the realities around her. When her mother falls unexpectedly ill and is scheduled for surgery, she enters the dream dimension and embarks on a Carrollesque adventure with wacky characters, evil queens and ghosts and ghouls.It is similar to Coraline although this is more fantasy than horror. The illustrations are beautiful, they employ a lot of mixed art styles and are drawn in a more abstract way which adds a layer of mystique and surrealism to the story. It is however a rather short story.

Oh my goodness this book gave me some chills. I'm not sure if it was meant to, but the idea of the mirror mask was creepy to me! But anyway, Neil Gaiman can do no wrong, period end of story. I have yet to read something of his that I didn't like. No I'm not reading short novels to procrastinate reading things I really should be reading, what makes you think that?

Mirrormask is a film scripted by Neil Gaiman that I have not seen. This is a novella told from the main girl's point of view that uses film stills and additional art by his long time collaborator Dave McKean. It is familiar territory for Gaiman, but very good stuff, about the relationship between fantasy and )painful, scary) life, about the uses of "escapism" and meaning. It's not as good as The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but the visual mix with the novel makes for an interesting reading experience.

Fantastical. A girl and her family have a circus. She gets stuck in a dream world with people wearing masks, sharp-toothed cats with rainbow wings, floating giants, and doppelgängers. I can't wait to see the movie. Neil Gaiman is pretty amazing.

This and Coraline are both based on an alternate world. Their other world seems to come into being or becomes more accessible when dissatisfaction arises with a parent in the real world. Here the comparison ends and I find myself enjoying MirrorMask much more then Coraline. I think it's partially that MirrorMask is much darker and I'm liking that side of Neil. He seemed to show it much more while writing the Sandman series. There's nothing wrong with lightheartedness and humour but I find he's at his best when things are a little meatier. While Coraline wishes for a parent that notices her and cares, Helena simply wants a little more normalcy. Through many her many Wonderland styled adventures in the alternate world she begins to find that maybe her life is closer to normal then she thought. The art work to go along with this “trip” is fantastic. I think the movie may go on my “To watch” list

I'd seen the movie a long time ago and so I had to do the book. Very short yet still fantastic. One of the few cases where the movie was better than the book, but just because the visuals were so stunning. The only thing that could have improved this was to have Neil read it himself. All in all, still a worthwhile listen.

Creepy, magical, dreamy, odd! The illustrations are so interesting, with contrasting styles. As ever, very Gaiman!

I don't think I'll ever not absolutely love a book by Neil Gaiman. It's imaginative, magical and so beautiful it just transports you into the other world of mirrormask. I've never heard of the film before, and I'm extremely curious about it now, so I think I'll give it a go.The only thing that I had a problem with is how Helena just forgave Valentine his betrayal, without him showing any real remorse. So yeah, that's the only weak point I guess in a beautiful story.Also, I've listened to audiobook, which I actually rather enjoyed. The narrator did a superb job that even added to the magic of the tale itself. I just wish I'll get my hand on the illustrated version of the book soon-ish, because I'm sure it'll be doubly enjoyable!

Every time I read a Neil Gainman book I think @this is definitely the best one”. This exactly how I felt about this novella. I listened on audio and the narrator was as magical as the book but I do want to get the book to see the illustrations now. It was another beautifully crafted, a touch creepy, fairy tale for young adults. I loved loved the whimsy and originality that I always rediscover in all Gainman’s books.

I love the film. It's one of my absolute favourites regardless of genre. This audiobook is equally as great. And the fact that they've got Stephanie Leonidas to reprise her role as Helena is one of the best things ever. She definitely knows how to narrate an audiobook, to the point, so that you immediately want to listen to it again.