Faerie is a strange and wonderful place.
This is Gaiman at his best. Beautiful, sentimental, grotesque and violent all at once. This story has been compared to many of fairie-world classics--and that's a good way to approach it--but Gaiman's sensibilities are somewhat different than those of the classics you remember. Here, the wicked witches are no more or less wicked than any others you may have encountered, but Gaiman delights in that wickedness and plays it for all it's worth.
Not a book for children, nor for adults without a sense of humor that accomodates the macabre.
Vess' illustrations are simply exquisite, and are an essential part of the book. Do not buy the unillustrated paperback.
This binding (hardcover) is beautiful, truly a keepsake-worthy edition.