Neil Gaiman’s latest novel, The Graveyard Book (2009 Newbery Winner), begins with a chilling sentence, “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife” (N. Gaiman, 2008, 2). A toddler stumbles onto the scene and manages to evade a man named Jack who has murdered the toddler’s family. Jack pursues the toddler all the way into a graveyard but the baby is discovered by a family of ghosts and a vampire, all who hide him from Jack and call him Nobody Owens. Bod, for short.
Within the graveyard, Bod has parents in the Owens, Miss Lupescu for a teacher, and Silas as a protector. He has ghost children for friends but meets a living girl, Scarlett, who becomes a friend as well. As he grows older, Bod has many adventures such as meeting a witch and the strange, eerie Sleer. The story is about Bod’s physical growth but more so his developing ideas and attitudes about life.
Neil Gaiman is a hit or miss author. You get him or you don’t. I loved his novel, Stardust, but despised Coraline and was extremely disappointed in The Graveyard Book. Gaiman hooked me with that opening line and the brilliant illustrations by Dave McKean that appeared in each chapter. The older Bod became, the less interested I was and when the bizarre Sleer made their appearance I didn’t wish to continue reading. I trudged through to the end and found that the chapters read as individual stories connected only by the protagonist but not connected by an intricate plot.
As Bod began to long for Life (even though he was alive he lived as if he was not), he lost his ability to see the ghosts. In fact, Bod’s story seemed to be a quest for life. He toddled into the graveyard away from certain death and eventually left the graveyard to embrace Life, fully aware of his decision and the consequences. I can appreciate that this novel is Gaiman’s play on the Jungle Book but if one wants Kipling’s Jungle Book, read the original.
Within the graveyard, Bod has parents in the Owens, Miss Lupescu for a teacher, and Silas as a protector. He has ghost children for friends but meets a living girl, Scarlett, who becomes a friend as well. As he grows older, Bod has many adventures such as meeting a witch and the strange, eerie Sleer. The story is about Bod’s physical growth but more so his developing ideas and attitudes about life.
Neil Gaiman is a hit or miss author. You get him or you don’t. I loved his novel, Stardust, but despised Coraline and was extremely disappointed in The Graveyard Book. Gaiman hooked me with that opening line and the brilliant illustrations by Dave McKean that appeared in each chapter. The older Bod became, the less interested I was and when the bizarre Sleer made their appearance I didn’t wish to continue reading. I trudged through to the end and found that the chapters read as individual stories connected only by the protagonist but not connected by an intricate plot.
As Bod began to long for Life (even though he was alive he lived as if he was not), he lost his ability to see the ghosts. In fact, Bod’s story seemed to be a quest for life. He toddled into the graveyard away from certain death and eventually left the graveyard to embrace Life, fully aware of his decision and the consequences. I can appreciate that this novel is Gaiman’s play on the Jungle Book but if one wants Kipling’s Jungle Book, read the original.
Watch a trailer for the book that includes the book's artwork: http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m1660HKJT8UK7W
Gaiman, Neil. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins.
Gaiman, Neil. (2008). The graveyard book. New York: HarperCollins.
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