Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
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Book Reviews of Coraline
Book Review: Great book!
Summary: 4 Stars
After seeing the movie version recently, I just had to pick up the book. I'm not a huge Neil Gaiman fan because I tend to find his books kind of hit-and-miss for me, but a good chunk of his world in various mediums is absolutely enthralling. However, while I loved the Stardust movie, I didn't care for the book too much with its lean prose and lack of detail -and since I'm a believer in the whole "the book is better than the movie" mantra, this is sayinga lot.
Despite this, I picked up Coraline anyway, just to see how it relates to the movie version. I wasn't disappointed, Coraline is an amazingly haunting, fast paced dark fairy tale that kept my flipping pages -I even read the entire thing in one sitting!
Coraline lives in a dull, unsatisfying world with parents who are simply too distracted to pay much attention to her. To keep herself entertained, Coraline becomes acquainted with the other, much zanier flat tenants in her building -the mysterious Easter European former circus performer and Mrs.Spink and Mrs. Forcible, former actresses.
One day Coraline discovers a strange door in the wall of her living room, and decides to enter it. On the other side Coraline meets her Other Mother and her Other Father, who seem to live to make her happy. Her Other Mother cooks amazing meals every night, the building tenants have grown into lavish acts bent on entertaining Coraline and here, Coraline is the center of attention. This world feels like the perfect place...until Coraline is introduced to the price for remaining there -she must allow her Other Mother to sew buttons into her eyes.
In fear, Coraline leaves the other world, only to find that her real parents have disappeared. In order to save them and get her real life back, Coraline must journey back to the other side of the door to save her parents and the souls of others if she wishes to have a chance at a normal life.
Gaiman's writing is crisp, simple and fast-paced. The book's overall story is very simple and fairy tale-like, but at times feels just a tiny bit one-dimensional or lacks some details. Overall though, I really enjoyed this dark, haunting little fairy tale with a fun female heroine and well-written, well-paced writing.
Book Review: Creative and Oh So Creepy
Summary: 4 Stars
in a sentence or so: Coraline discovers a very mysterious room that leads to a very mysterious place that so closely resembles her home that she is almost fooled into staying there forever. almost...
Coraline loves to explore. she is quite good at exploring too. she loves to explore in the flat where she lives with her mom and dad, chat with her neighbors (the former actresses) and she's unsure about the man upstairs who claims to have a mouse circus in the making. busy parents and long days leave Coraline feeling bored, and that is when she discovers a door that leads to her other mother - who isn't quite what she seems...
i was inspired to read this book due to the movie that just came out, and due to the recognition that Gaiman has been getting for The Graveyard Book. i wasn't sure what to expect or what the story would be like. for those of you who are like me - i'll tell you. expect creepy, crawly, creative, spooky, thoughtful, and courage. the story is honestly scary at times - mostly because Gaiman crafts such a vivid mental image of the other world and things that happen are downright freakish.
something i adore about fantasy/fiction for young adolescents/upper elementary is the simple acceptance of the unknown. little time is spent rationalizing what happens, much time is spent with the "what to do now". Coraline's perception of the events balanced the outrageous with thoughtful problem-solving. she is determined and sweet, making her someone that the reader roots for immediately.
this book was a fun, scary, and spooky adventure. there is some serious depth to what happens to Coraline and the people she meets. Coraline's character, combined with the powerful imagery, made this book such a good and worthwhile read for me.
fave quote: "'She wants something to love, I think' said the cat. 'Something that isn't her. She might want something to eat as well. It's hard to tell with creatures like that.'" (78)
fix er up: there are a couple nit-picks that i wish were different, but they are a bit spoilerish so i won't post them. mostly how the story wraps up...there were some things i considered to be loose ends that i wish had been tied up.
Book Review: Magical, menacing atmosphere and strong, growing protragonist make this a wonderful book. Recommend to all readers
Summary: 5 Stars
Bored in her new flat and forgotten by her parents, the young Coraline goes exploring and discovers a door that opens into another world, similar to her own but distinctly different. Back in her real world, her parents disppear--and so Coraline must be brave, grow up a little, a defeat the darkness of the world through the door. A fascinating, disturbing, somewhat gruesome, somewhat magical text, Coraline is a truly scary fairy tale in the vein of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I love this book, both the text and the illustrations, and recommend it highly, especially to those who like Gaiman's style.
I love children's literature in particular because children possess an unparalleled ability to accept what they see and read as real. Books like Coraline never doubt themselves or make excuses for the fantasy they contain, and the forthright honesty of their story are engaging and refreshing. Combined with Gaiman's touch--his ability to bring dark humor, complex alternate worlds, and simple creepiness into everything that he writes--and McKean's detailed yet otherworldy illustrations, Coraline creates a fantastical, dark, creepy world to life. The book is thrilling, scary, and engrossing all without feeling dumbed-down or apologetic.
The book includes a definite moral element, but don't let that deter you from reading it. The majority of the focus is on Coraline's growth, not what she should be (according to some independent moral code) but rather the fact that she is becoming whoever it is that she will be--in this case a particular, brave, dry-humored child. That is to say, there is a moral, but the moral encourages general growth rather than specific growth, and so the book is empowering rather than irritating, even for the adult reader.
Coraline is short, entertaining, creepy, weird, dark, empowering, and engrossing. I recommend it to all audience, and don't feel silly for picking up a children's book--this really is a wonderful read. It may not have the depth of a novel, but it's a book that I'm happy to have in my collection and come back to every now and then for a one-day read. I recommend that you check it out. It's one of Gaiman's best works.
Book Review: A Coming of Age Story Minus the Coming of Age
Summary: 5 Stars
Coraline is a kid. That obvious truth struck me many times throughout this amazing little gem by Neil Gaiman of "American Gods" fame. Not to blunt my praise for Gaiman's creative ability, but he MUST have drawn on his parenting experiences for "Coraline." The titular character is equal parts charmingly honest and frusteratingly picky, she styles herself as independent but her world is bordered by the arms of her parents. People will inevitably compare this book to "Alice and Wonderland," but Coraline (not Caroline, mind you) is not a moralizing avatar of the author. She is a self-styled explorer that any kid (boy or girl) could easily get behind.
That's not to say that Gaiman's only triumph is creating a single great character. The narrative has a unique way of causing fear that I've honestly never seen before. To all but the most sensitive children "Coraline" is a great spooky tale to tell kids old enough to understand the concept of fiction. (anyone reading Goosebumps or other kid-friendly thrillers) Adults, specifically parents, may feel a different kind of fear as Coraline enters a very twisted version of her own home. It may even be more terrifying to a parent that, at it's heart, "Coraline" is a story about a young girl that is kidnapped by a hostile and even murderous force.
To go into setting and the other plot details would destroy a lot of the suspense that mounts as Coraline explores her new world. It's best that the reader encounters them as Coraline does: brave and horrified. However, it is worth noting that this isn't a story aimed at seeing the child-hero through to adulthood. It's not a innocence-crushing coming of age tale. If anything the journey makes Coraline just a bit more grateful for what she has, and that's a lesson that any kid can take to heart.
If this were just an excellent piece of children's fiction it would easily deserve five stars. As it is a delightful read for any age it should be purchased immeadiately for anyone even slighlty interested in the sort of surreal fairy tale that Gaiman has mastered writing.
Book Review: The Cat, the Creature and the Corridor
Summary: 5 Stars
Too wet to go out
With nothing to do
So she stayed in the house
Counting everything blue
Then she counted the windows
She counted each door
`til she came to the one
That she'd not used before
"Ignore it" said Mother
And took out the key
"It doesn't go anywhere,
Coraline, see?"
And Coraline looked
All she saw was a wall
`cos the door led to nothing,
Just nothing at all
But if that were true, then
Ignoring that door
Would leave us with nothing
For her to explore
So the very next day
When the door she did open
It led to a corridor
As we'd been hopin'
It led not to Narnia
No, not this time
No lions or wardrobes
In this little rhyme
But a parallel world
And an alternate life
With an odd other father
And his other wife
They greeted her kindly
And begged her to stay
Where she would be loved
Every hour of the day
It sounded quite tempting
But to her surprise
A part of the deal
Was black buttons for eyes
That didn't sound pleasant
It didn't sound nice
So she hightailed her tail
Out of there in a trice
The rest of the tale
Is delightfully chilling
As Coraline has to do
More than she's willing
Mirrors and magic
Enchantment and more
A sarcastic cat
And a world through a door
Miss Miriam Forcible
And old Miss Spink
Give her a gift that's
Worth more than you'd think
A man who trains mice
And a litter of rats
"There's more to the eye"
Said the cat with no hats
And whether you're young
Or doddering and bent
This book from Neil Gaiman
Is worth every cent
Amanda Richards, March 14, 2009