“Now I think it‘s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that‘s the end.”

Another finally. Finished this with my oldest over the weekend. (Thought I was too cool to read them back when, I guess.) Wonderful illustrations by Jim Kay in the deluxe kid‘s edition. Possibly becoming a Potterhead.

“When in doubt, go to the library.”
(Hermione Granger)

This was my first Gaiman, and it was hard to put down. I‘ve seen complaints about the narrator, but I think the choice fits the work and its commentary on memory. What may be unsettling about this book, too, is that we don‘t know for sure by the end what‘s actually happened. Was the fantastical element of the story a fabrication, the narrator‘s manner of coping with trauma?

The bits on food throughout had me hungry and inspired in the kitchen.

Picked my copy up in Dingle on a trip to Ireland last year at the recommendation of the bookshop. Finally read it and loved it. Jonathan‘s sections were the strongest and by far my favorite, but ultimately, I think the two stories of fatherhood work well together. Carson is unique, insightful, and funny. It‘s not quite magical realism, but definitely magical. A bit glad I hadn‘t known that before, or I might not have picked it up.