A review by curiouslibrarian
The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman

4.0

Gaiman has clearly found his footing with this volume and story arc. There is much to like in this volume. The characters of Desire and Gilbert are wonderful creations. Ken and Barbie are just creepily terrifying.

I found though, with this volume, that I was more drawn to the breather/break stories that were not part of the main arc. In general, folklore is a story type the always calls to me, so I got very wrapped up in the intro story "Tales in the Sand." And I love the touch that this is the "men's version" of the story. That just rings very true to me in regards to folklore.

In a similar way, I am also drawn to history and the changes in culture. So "Men of Good Fortune" was also a story I got very caught up in. (I was happy to see that Gaiman comes back to bits of this story in later volumes.)

One other interesting thing I noticed about this volume. The house and its inhabitants interest me. I had finished Coraline a few days before I finished this volume. I see great similarities in the architecture and inhabitants of this house in this book and the house Gaiman has written into Coraline. I wonder why he returns to this house in his work?