The Sandman: A Game of You

Title: The Sandman: A Game of You
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrators: Shawn McManus, Colleen Doran, Bryan Talbot, George Pratt, Stan Woch, Dick Giordano
Lettering: Todd Klein
ISBN: 1563890895

Other Books in Series: Preludes and Nocturnes, The Doll's House, Dream Country, Season of Mists, Fables and Reflections, Brief Lives, World's End, The Kindly Ones, The Wake.

Plot Summary: Barbie is a young woman with an active fantasy life, living in the city with a quirky group of friends including a lesbian couple, a male-to-female pre-operative transgender, a witch, and a quiet, somewhat mysterious man who turns out to be working for the book's main antagonist. When Barbie is visited by Martin Tenbones, a large dog from the realm of Dreams, he tells her that the fantasy land of her dreams is being threatened by a malignant being known as the Cuckoo. Alarmed, Barbie travels mentally to dreamland, leaving her comatose body behind in the waking world. After finding out that George, the quiet man, is in league with the enemy, Thessaly, the witch, kills him and draws down the moon to help her and the other women in their quest to find Barbie. However, the moon will not let Wanda, the transgender, accompany the three other women, as she feels he does not count as a "real" woman. While left behind with George's head, Wanda is ultimately killed by Thessaly's magic raging out of control. Barbie eventually defeats the Cuckoo, but not without paying a price, both in terms of the land of her dreams and the loss of a dear friend.


Critical Evaluation: Many of the Sandman books intertwine real-life issues with fantasy elements. This one is unique, particularly for its era, in dealing with transgender issues and exploring the question of what constitutes a "real" woman or man. Neither the Moon nor Wanda's parents can accept her as she saw herself. Barbie attempts to remedy the latter situation by crossing Wanda's birth name, Alvin, out with lipstick on her gravestone and writing her "real" name there instead, a progressive attitude for a graphic novel published almost 20 years ago. However, the fact that the Moon fails to recognize anything but Wanda's biological gender leaves a bad taste in the mouth, as the author is in a position to have supernatural characters recognize mortals's true nature. Neil Gaiman has since backtracked somewhat on this issue, claiming that the Moon is wrong and that Wanda is indeed a woman. The ending of the book makes up somewhat for this misstep, and for the fact that Wanda is killed off, but the rest of the transgender subplot mars an otherwise very strong volume in the Sandman series.

Reader's Annotation: Barbie, a young woman living with a ragtag group of friends in the city, is called upon by a denizen of the Land of Dreams to save the creatures from her childhood fantasies from the evil Cuckoo. Barbie and her friends get more than they bargained for, however, and although they are able to bring about positive change, it does not come without personal tragedy.


About the Author: Neil Gaiman was born in 1960 in Portchester, England. He grew up reading science fiction and fantasy books, and pursued a career as a journalist before publishing his first book, a musical biography. He has written a number of science fiction, horror, and fantasy books for children and adults, as well as screenplays for film and television, and collaborated with Alan Moore and other comic artists on a number of graphic novels. Gaiman had three children - Maddy, Holly, and Michael - with Mary McGrath, from whom he is now divorced. He currently lives and works in Minneapolis, and is dating singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer.


Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel

Curriculum Ties: Sex Education, Psychology, Folklore, Mythology

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: Barbie's Dream World
Approach: Plot and character-based
Ideas for Booktalk: Discuss the inhabitants of Barbie's dreams, and what their identities and personalities say about her. Ways that her dream world meshes with the main one in the Sandman series. The Cuckoo looks like her as a little girl - what does this say about the Cuckoo, and about her? Crossover between the dream and waking world; Barbie is given agency in controlling the outcome of her and others' dreams.


Hook: The Moon will not let Wanda accompany the others because she is not a "real" woman.
Approach: Scene-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: What constitutes a "real" woman? Do you have to be biologically female to "count," or is the question more one of self-identification? The author has since stated that the moon is wrong; discuss whether or not the text supports this idea. Presenting a wrong idea vs. presenting an idea as wrong. Contrast the Moon's behavior with that of Wanda's parents, who cannot accept her true identity even after her death. Does this make up for Wanda's treatment in the earlier scenes? Why or why not?


Reading Level/Interest Age: Grades 9+

Challenge Issues: Graphic violence, offensive language, sexual content, homosexuality. The Sandman books do not shy away from graphic violence, and this book is no exception. Younger and more sensitive readers may be put off by the sometimes excessive gore, but Gaiman does not kill off characters or have them come to messy ends without reason. His characters use profane language and are more often sexually active than not, but Gaiman views this as neither a virtue nor a shortcoming, but rather simply aspects of the characters' personalities. A lesbian couple in a committed relationship is depicted in a more or less positive light in this book, and therefore might have the potential to demonstrate that such relationships can be as genuine as heterosexual ones.
The question of how the transgender character is treated in the book is slightly more tricky. Many readers will agree with the Moon and Wanda's parents that she is not a "real" woman, and those who are transgender or transgender-friendly could be offended by the lack of recognition the character receives, as well as the fact that she is killed off. To both parties, I would stress the following points: 1) The book, having been written almost 20 years ago, is a reflection of period attitudes regarding gender identity; 2) There are those in the book, most notably the main character, who accept Wanda as she wishes to be, and 3) This book, in the final analysis, presents both sides of the argument, thereby leaving the door open to further debate on the subject.

Why I Chose This Book: I confess to having been initially offended by the book's appearing to agree with the Moon about Wanda's gender identity, and was disappointed that Gaiman chose to kill her off among all the secondary characters. However, even leaving aside the question of the book's era, it presents a number of viewpoints, all of which are ultimately open to interpretation and discussion. For teenagers struggling with their own issues of sexuality and identity, this book may open the door to valuable dialogue, and the accessible format and engaging storyline will enhance this process even further.