I was introduced to NG by my best friend, who back in college, collected first edition volumes of Sandman. She let me read her precious Sandman volumes but I really couldn't connect to the material then. I do remember reading Signal to Noise and thinking that this guy is really good. After a couple of years, an officemate lent me his paperback copy of Stardust. I remember reading Stardust on a family trip to Baguio - the last one we had as a full, intact family. I remember sitting on the carpeted living room floor by the fireplace in the Green Valley house. I remember feeling a sense of elation, a sense of rightness after finishing the book. I thought that was how fairy tales are supposed to end.
Sandman didn't 'read' naturally for me. I initially found it a difficult read, too complex and cold yet emotional. It befuddled me. Then I came across this blog that posted an excerpt from The Kindly Ones, the one about love and how it can be a soul-hurt, a body-hurt. I don't know why, but it struck a chord and I just had to get the book and see how that came about. Tracking down the Sandman volumes became an obsession back when I didn't have too much resources to get them. I relished the moment when I've saved up enough to buy the next volume, and it was available at my nearest bookstore. The Sandman hunt has gotten so entrenched in my life that I felt lost and purposeless when I completed the collection. It had become my tradition to read Sandman at least once a year, and every year, every time I read Sandman, I see a different facet of the characters, of the story. And wherever I am in life, Sandman never fails to teach me a valuable lesson on love, death, relationships, on getting my shit together, or on letting loose and letting go. The books taught me best on how to be an adult, and not lose that sense of childlike wonder. To this day, Sandman is still one of my top reads, if not THE.
I find NG's writing so graceful and poetic and magical. Something in the way he weaves words makes me feel like anything is possible, even the fantastical. He echoes my most secret thoughts that I have yet to articulate. He writes with such a big heart that if you're reading a superhero-like confrontation, you're able to fly and soar with the characters, yet still feel so human and vulnerable. To be honest, there were times when I thought I don't get him anymore, but by some weird design of fate, he publishes a blog entry, or releases a book, and next thing I know, I'm back in that warm cozy place where there's nothing but love, admiration and respect for him.
Having had the opportunity to meet him for a couple of minutes was precious. It was a huge affair, in a giant tent with hundreds of people waiting to hear him talk and sign books. I felt anxious and almost sorry I went there because of the big what-if questions (what if he's a snob or a jerk or this obnoxious hollywoody person?) but I'm glad I went because I got to see that he's not any of those, but a real, kind man. I think that's why his writing affects me that way. His soul resonates clearly through his work and directly communicates with those willing to listen.
