February 25 - "Troll Bridge"

“Troll Bridge”
by Neil Gaiman
Smoke and Mirrors (1998)

* * * (Good) Fantasy

After wandering down an unfamiliar path in the sun-dappled woods, Jack finds himself face to face with a troll. In an attempt to keep the troll from eating him, Jack promises to return one day, older and wiser and tastier, his life lived more completely.

This story seems familiar. Not like I’ve read it before and forgotten, but more in the sense of a story similar, with the same type of bargain for extended life. It must just be one of those recycled ideas – only here the result doesn’t feel warmed-over or retread. The descriptions of setting and flashes of Jack’s life are what give this tale its strength. However, there are only glimpses of Jack’s life, not enough for me to become invested in Jack’s fate, or his eventual decision. I understand the story; I just don’t care one way or the other about Jack. I was more interested with the growing little town and its developing neighborhoods encroaching and overwhelming the fields and countryside. This was simply an instance of the setting overshadowing the characters and plot.