This is a story that has haunted me since childhood. I first saw the animated movie long, long ago in elementary scool, didn't read the book until high school, and found my own copy while rummaging through the basement shelves of a second-hand bookstore just before classes started at uni this week.
I'd forgotten, or maybe never realized, how amazing the book is. A story where the characters know they're in a fairy tale and aren't afraid to point that out. (Sorta reminds me of the cheesienss of Princess Bride.)
[I don't really know where I'm going with this right now... er...]
So I started reading it and immediately fell in love with it all over again. I found the passages that really stuck in my mind when I'd first read it, was delighted to finally be able to appreciate all the dark humor, and rediscovered how vibrant and real the characters were to me.
I finished reading the book Wednesday (had to pace myself, otherwise I could've finished it on Monday night) and for the first time in a very long while, I was really, really sad that the experience was over when I closed the back cover.
So, um... anyone else read it?
*shuffles feet*