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Book Summary and Reviews of The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman

The View from the Cheap Seats

Selected Nonfiction

by Neil Gaiman

  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Published:
  • May 2016, 544 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

An enthralling collection of nonfiction essays on a myriad of topics - from art and artists to dreams, myths, and memories - observed in #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman's probing, amusing, and distinctive style.

An enthralling collection of nonfiction essays on a myriad of topics - from art and artists to dreams, myths, and memories - observed in #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman's probing, amusing, and distinctive style.

An inquisitive observer, thoughtful commentator, and assiduous craftsman, Neil Gaiman has long been celebrated for the sharp intellect and startling imagination that informs his bestselling fiction. Now, The View from the Cheap Seats brings together for the first time ever more than sixty pieces of his outstanding nonfiction. Analytical yet playful, erudite yet accessible, this cornucopia explores a broad range of interests and topics, including (but not limited to): authors past and present; music; storytelling; comics; bookshops; travel; fairy tales; America; inspiration; libraries; ghosts; and the title piece, at turns touching and self-deprecating, which recounts the author's experiences at the 2010 Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Insightful, incisive, witty, and wise, The View from the Cheap Seats explores the issues and subjects that matter most to Neil Gaiman - offering a glimpse into the head and heart of one of the most acclaimed, beloved, and influential artists of our time.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. With this volume, Gaiman has shown that his nonfiction rivals his much-lauded fiction." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. This is a book to dip in and out of; while themes and ideas do repeat, they will also change and take on new resonances over time. Gaiman's many fans will love this collection, which showcases the author's wit, wisdom, and deep appreciation for art and the people who make it." - Kirkus

"Full of devotion and erudition, this is also a glorious love-letter to reading, to writing, to dreaming, to an entire genre." - Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

"If this book came to you during a despairing night, by dawn you would believe in ideas and hope and humans again. This is a beautiful, beautiful book." - Caitlin Moran, journalist and New York Times bestselling author of How to Build a Girl

This information about The View from the Cheap Seats was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Neil Gaiman Author Biography

Photo: Philippe Matsas

Neil Gaiman grew up in England and, although Jewish, attended Church of England schools, including Ardingly College, a boarding school in West Sussex (South of England). During the early 1980s he worked as a journalist and book reviewer. His first book was a biography of the band Duran Duran. He moved from England to his wife's hometown in the American midwest several years ago. He and his family now live in a renovated Victorian farmhouse where (he says) his hobbies are writing things down, hiding, and talking about himself in the third person. More about him and his books below.

A professional writer for more than twenty years, Neil Gaiman has been one of the top writers in modern comics, and is now a bestselling novelist. His work has appeared in ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Neil Gaiman's Website

Name Pronunciation
Neil Gaiman: kneel gay-mn

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