The Good Fairies of New York

by Martin Millar

Book Overview

The Good Fairies of New York tells the fish-out-of-water story of two Scottish thistle fairies who find themselves in Manhattan. The fairies hook up with two humans, Kerry (complete with colostomy bag) and Dinnie (antisocial in the extreme), finding time to help both get their acts together. A book that brings together race riots and Scottish folklore, The Good Fairies of New York is anything but a typical fairy fantasy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1933368365
• ISBN13: 9781933368368
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Soft Skull
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Crazy magic wrapped up in the form of a book. A sky full of stars is the only rating that does this

I ended up having a truly remarkable experience with this book that was almost spiritual. It involved a car, some pain pills, an unknown disease and my mother's voice. I have decided to revel the whole story here, even though it is quite personal so that readers may gain an understanding of exactly how special this book is. I started reading "The Good Fairies of New York" in the car on the way to school when I had a terrible headache and my mother was running into the pharmacy to get me some pain pills. I loved the first chapter so much that on her return I read it aloud for her, intending to continue on reading by myself. But when I finished and stopped vocalizing the words she protested. "Don't stop there" she said, "this is great!" So I read on. When we weren't in the car she would read to me. Progress was slow because our schedules conflicted, neither one of us was willing to cheat by going ahead alone and every now and then we would stop to remark on how amazing the book was. Then, sadly but truly, we forgot about the book for a while. We forgot because I got sick, really sick. Like Kerry, the silvery-blue haired woman determined to make an ancient Celtic flower alphabet and win a community arts prize despite her crone's disease (only that's not what I have.) Confused, in a lot of pain, drugged and scared about what was happening to me we turned back to the book. This time just my mother read. Whenever I was particularly depressed, or in so much pain I wanted to die or terrified that no one was ever going to figure out what was wrong with me, she would whip out the cheerful orange-cream sunset colored novel and read a chapter or two. Through the adventures of Heather and Morag, two Scottish thistle fairies who landed in New York after being chased out of Scotland for desecrating sacred clan objects (among other things) and ended up with two humans-Dinny a loud, fat and mean bad fiddle player and Kerry, bent on revenge on her old boyfriend, I laughed. Tulip and Petal, prince and princess of Cornwall's fairy kingdom which their father Tala was turning into an industrial dictatorship and the friends who helped them escape living in Central Park always cheered me up. The endless coincidences surrounding Magenta, a bag lady who seems to think she's a Greek general, were something to ponder. And there's more. For a relatively short book this has a complex plot and a huge cast of characters and somehow it all fits so well together that I can just imagine the author sitting up for days and nights making flow charts and diagrams as how to wrap it all up so perfectly. By the time we'd reached the end (about eight months after we started) I even had a diagnosis. Call me crazy but I attribute this in part to the magic of this book. The perfect, crazy, hair die, rock and roll, inter racial, sacred, clannish, love, flower filled, whisky flowing, punk, homeless, artsy, Celtic, Italian, Chinese, Goninan and New York magic which flowed from every w

Crazy magic wrapped up in the form of a book. A sky full of stars is the only rating that does this

I ended up having a truly remarkable experience with this book that was almost spiritual. It involved a car, some pain pills, an unknown disease and my mother's voice. I have decided to revel the whole story here, even though it is quite personal so that readers may gain an understanding of exactly how special this book is. I started reading "The Good Fairies of New York" in the car on the way to school when I had a terrible headache and my mother was running into the pharmacy to get me some pain pills. I loved the first chapter so much that on her return I read it aloud for her, intending to continue on reading by myself. But when I finished and stopped vocalizing the words she protested. "Don't stop there" she said, "this is great!" So I read on. When we weren't in the car she would read to me. Progress was slow because our schedules conflicted, neither one of us was willing to cheat by going ahead alone and every now and then we would stop to remark on how amazing the book was. Then, sadly but truly, we forgot about the book for a while. We forgot because I got sick, really sick. Like Kerry, the silvery-blue haired woman determined to make an ancient Celtic flower alphabet and win a community arts prize despite her crone's disease (only that's not what I have.) Confused, in a lot of pain, drugged and scared about what was happening to me we turned back to the book. This time just my mother read. Whenever I was particularly depressed, or in so much pain I wanted to die or terrified that no one was ever going to figure out what was wrong with me, she would whip out the cheerful orange-cream sunset colored novel and read a chapter or two. Through the adventures of Heather and Morag, two Scottish thistle fairies who landed in New York after being chased out of Scotland for desecrating sacred clan objects (among other things) and ended up with two humans-Dinny a loud, fat and mean bad fiddle player and Kerry, bent on revenge on her old boyfriend, I laughed. Tulip and Petal, prince and princess of Cornwall's fairy kingdom which their father Tala was turning into an industrial dictatorship and the friends who helped them escape living in Central Park always cheered me up. The endless coincidences surrounding Magenta, a bad lady who seems to think she's a Greek general, were something to ponder. And there's more. For a relatively short book this has a complex plot and a huge cast of characters and somehow it all fits so well together that I can just imagine the author sitting up for days and nights making flow charts and diagrams as how to wrap it all up so perfectly. By the time we'd reached the end (about eight months after we started) I even had a diagnosis. Call me crazy but I attribute this in part to the magic of this book. The perfect, crazy, hair die, rock and roll, inter racial, sacred, clannish, love, flower filled, whisky flowing, punk, homeless, artsy, Celtic, Italian, Chinese, Goninan and New York magic which flowed from every w

Finally in print in the US!

I scour thrift shops for used books, and have stumbled upon some doozies in my time. One of my personal favorites has been the (out-of-print, and very expensive) UK 3-book collection of Martin Millar's unique fantasy novels. I knew nothing about the book or the author, but was intrigued by the day-glo green cover of a punk-rocker in a tu-tu, and the blurbs about the novels. This novel seemed the most interesting to me - I was intrigued by the idea of punk fairies. I read this book in a few days, staying up late, and enjoyed it immensely. The fairies are highly entertaining, and the human characters are very well-drawn and sympathetic, providing an intersting balance of comedy and pathos. I haven't read the other two books in my omnibus edition, I'm saving them. But, I am delighted to see that this book that I thought was so obscure and hard to find coming in to print in the US, and with a gushing intro by Neil Gaiman. I hope this book finds an audience, and that we get more of this author's works in print on this side of the Atlantic.

hello party people

I heard of Martin Millar from Neil Gaiman's blog. Neil Gaiman praised Martin Millar's wisdom, wit and solid writing in "The Good Fairies of New York" -- and mentioned it a few more times. I loved the premise of punk rock fairies and wanted to check it out, but couldn't afford it.Finally, when (August 23, 2003, in the blog) Neil's assistant Lorraine was cited as claiming that Millar's as-of-yet unpublished book "Lonely Werewolf Girl" might be the best book ever written, and then (Novemeber 2003, at Sequential Tart) Neil namechecked him again, I made it my mission in life (I'm a writer, bookseller and rare book scout) to track down a damaged copy. They wanted $54 for a scrunched copy of the Collected with a bite out of the back cover and the title page torn out. (I paid $38 plus $4 shipping, but -- at this point, rabid -- I really needed it.)I've only read "The Good Fairies of New York" and have two entire Millar novels to go. It's ingenious. He ambles between traditional fairy motifs and the Gods of Punk Rawk. Deftly and cheerfully, he spins the stories of characters that mainstream bestsellers tend to skip. Millar's favorite writer, according to his website, is Jane Austen. It shows. Whimsically and precisely, with a fun plot that turns corners on a dime, all sorts of delicious mayhem ensue. If you've ever wanted Johnny Thunders of The New York Dolls to come back from heaven to find his lost guitar, or if you've ever wondered why reels can be so tricky on the fiddle, or if you've tired of some of the more traditional types of fantasies, the book's for you.If you're as poor as I am, get Kelly Link's "Stranger Things Happen" or Matt Ruff's "Set This House in Order" or Jonathan Carroll's "White Apples." They're all in print in paperback. But if you've read those (and Gaiman and Kiernan and Mieville and the others pushing things forward), then treat yourself to "The Good Fairies of New York." It's wrong that it's out of print and so expensive, but it's oh so worth it.

this inspires me to live the crazy life

I read this book for at least the third time again last night, its the type of book that ensures that youre not at all embarassed to chuckle out loud on a bus because you know its worth it. Amazingly layered, and hilarious; if I could be an original writer like this i'd be damn happy.