In a novel, an author has the luxury of letting atmosphere contribute to the way his reader reacts to characters, an advantage the short story author is obviously lacking. But there is something about the way in which Gaiman writes; perhaps this comes from familiarity with his work, but from nearly the opening paragraph we are wrapped in a cocoon of atmosphere that establishes context for the events that follow.
By being able to prepare the way for his characters, and then giving them their heads, his stories are able to move forward quickly without any of the jars that you experience in a less accomplished author's short work. There is a seamless flow to these pieces with none of the reliance on device or trickery that annoys me about most work in this genre.
I've noticed in the past that writing a short story has a lot in common with buying clothes or shoes. You have the option of going with something that has a lot of flash and pizzazz but is short on longevity or you can pick something a little plainer in style but a heck of a lot more durable. This is not to say that the latter is unoriginal in content - in fact, quite the contrary - but the packaging it comes in is made to last with no reliance on gimmickry or sleight of hand.
Neil Gaiman is an imaginative and inventive novelist whose flights of fancy, whimsical nature, and ability to be equally at home in both the light and dark parts of the human psyche, without resorting to the voyeurism employed by so many of his contemporaries, has made his name synonymous with high quality fantasy. Fragile Things not only reaffirms his abilities as a writer, it shows his capacity for storytelling is on par with those to whom he dedicates the collection.
Like Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison before him, he can hold the robin's egg that is a short story in his hands without crushing the shell and ensure that at its centre lays a sturdily beating heart. These are Fragile Things that the passage of time will have difficulty folding, bending, or mutilating. They are as durable as stories themselves and as long as there is air to breath and ears to listen, they will be told.
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