I decided to pick up a copy of The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar for Carl's Once Upon a Time III Challenge. I think I originally heard about it on Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops' blog site. And it has an introduction by Neil Gaiman...very cool. It was a easy and fun read. But my final verdict is that, well, it was ok. I liked it. But I didn't love it.The book starts out like this:
Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet.
The main story revolves around a couple of Scottish fairies who've run away and somehow ended up in New York City's Lower East Side. Heather and Morag, are sort of your typical fairies: they drink a lot, fight, play the music excellently, and get into all sorts of trouble....like angering the fairies in Harlem and Chinatown by robbing them. Most humans can't see the fairies but some do: including a few homeless people and a couple of lone souls in the East Village: Dinnie and Kerry. Dinnie has a crush on Kerry who lives across the street, but Dinnie is a pretty vile character. And Kerry is preoccupied with a horrible health problem while trying to win in an art competition. Also, as part of a bargain, Heather helps Dinnie try and win over Kerry. And Morag helps Kerry sabotage her ex's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh...and Kerry loves the New York Dolls and the ghost of Johnny Thunders is roaming the Village searching for his beloved guitar someone stole. Oh, and at some point there's a fairy war between the good fairies of New York and the Cornish fairies from England.
Interesting, right? I liked Kerry. I could never stand Dinnie. And the fairies were pretty silly. It was funny and cute. But it just wasn't "wow" to me. I think it'd work better as maybe a graphic novel? Hmmm...not sure.
I did find this alternate cover which I like because the fairies wear kilts and Heather and Morag were pretty punked out. I could see them with green wings and purple hair:
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I really wanted to read this one. :( I hope I like it if I ever do get around to reading it. Oh, I agree, it sounds like it would make a great graphic novel!
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of this but haven't gotten to it. I have mixed feelings about starting it because I have read glowing reviews from people and reviews more along the lines of yours which gives the impression that the book is not all it promises to be. It isn't the biggest book in the world, though, so I really should get to it!
ReplyDeleteI wish the good fairies of New York would spend less time on stuff like this and more time putting quarters into nearly-expired parking meters ... ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt seems we are reading in parallel at the moment. I am reading Practical Magic and read this for the 24 hour read-a-thon last weekend!
ReplyDeleteI really loved this book! Usually I'd recommend this to friends and customers by just telling them to read the first page - and usually they'd get hooked :D Of course, it does seem like there is just too much going on at once, which I liked but is headache-inducing for some of my friends. I enjoyed your review :)
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds like so much fun! I also love drawing of the fairy in a kilt on the other cover.
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