The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
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Book Reviews of The Graveyard Book
Book Review: THE GRAVEYARD BOOK BY NEIL GAIMAN, ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVE MCKEAN
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems inevitable in some ways that Neil Gaiman would one day write a book about a graveyard; and furthermore would make it a children's book; and even furthermore write a wonderful tale about growing up, learning from your mistakes, and appreciating life to it's fullest. Welcome to The Graveyard Book.
Nobody Owens is doomed to begin with. After his family is tragically killed by a determined and terrifying murderer who is now after him to finish the job, Bod finds himself in a graveyard adopted by some very strange ghosts and a father figure, Silas, who is neither dead nor alive, but somewhere in between. His growing up and education is not one filled with arithmetic and grammar, but abilities of the dead like Fading and Dreamwalking.
It is no surprise that the book Gaiman was destined to write - and has spent many years working on and putting the pieces slowly together - features some of the strongest characters he has ever written. First off there is Bod Owens, a wonderful young boy you can't help falling in love with as you grow up with him and experience his many adventures. Silas, the strong, paternal caretaker who is shrouded in mystery as to his origins and what it means being one of the "Honor Guard." Miss Lupescu, an Eastern European lady who looks after Bod for a summer, teaching him, and forcing him to eat her unusual foods. It is a relationship that begins with hate, but ends in love and respect. Liza Hempstock, a witch buried in potter's field, shunned by most in the graveyard, but becomes an unusual acquaintance for Bod. Scarlett, a living girl who considers Bod an imaginary friend at first, and then something more later. There is even an appearance from the Lady on the Grey for the Danse Macabre.
At the end of The Graveyard Book, the reader is moved to sadness, as all things must come to end. Gaiman has said that many readers told him they cried at the end, which is no surprise when we feel a little part of Bod in all of us. It is the innocent, adventurous spirit within that harkens back to stories like Peter Pan and The Jungle Book, which Gaiman references in his acknowledgements. The Graveyard Book doesn't end with a bang or a whimper, but with a moving expression of hope: "But between now and then, there was Life; and Bod walked into it with his heart and his eyes wide open."
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Book Review: Another Gaiman Delight mixing humor, creepiness, fantasy, horror, and humanity
Summary: 5 Stars
What a fun read. It kept me up 'til 7 in the morning yesterday, and I do not regret it a bit.
The story of Nobody Owens--his adopted name, as this is a wee human child spared the murderous spree of a dreadful assasin, then taken in by a cemetery full of ghosts from assorted centuries, and guarded by them because the assasin has not given up the quest to kill him--is unputdownable. Every adventure as he grows from toddler to teenager mixes wonders and frights and humor. It's just such fun to see him learn ghostly ways and interact with humans and nonhumans.
There's so much to recommend in the story (and my fellow reviewers cover plenty, so I need not repeat it), but I agree that the trip into the world of the ghouls was a wild ride. I have to give props to Gaiman for the total magic that he infused into the chapter on the Danse Macabre. It would have been a terrific short story--that strange, strange day--but it worked wonderfully in the tale, showing us clearly a thing or two about Nobody and his mysterious, powerful Guardian, Silas. (His particular fantasy niche, while never said specifically in so many words is , nevertheless, no great riddle.)
The near-end brings Nobody into confrontation with the horrible killer, and Nobody comes into his own, but it costs him. It's a well-crafted ending that is inevitable given all Nobody's learned as the story progressed. If you don't figure it out pretty well in advance, you werent' paying attention.
The bittersweet--but natural and fitting-- ending made me sad as I closed the book. It feels complete, yes, but I so want to see more written on Nobody Owens. I have no idea if Mr. Gaiman has planned another or several more novels with this character, but I can say that I would very much like to read more on Nobody and Silas.
I should add that there are illustrations scattered throughout, however, I'm not a particular fan of all the included art. I normally really enjoy McKean's partnering with Mr. Gaiman, but several of the illustrations just left me unimpressed. Though, honestly, I was so wrapped up in the tale, I didn't give them that much of a lingering look. So, the fault may lie more with my impatience to read.
A wonderful story. If you enjoyed the award-winning CORALINE, you're in for a treat. This one's better.
Thanks, Mr. G.
Mir
UPDATE Jan 26, 2009: This book just won Gaiman the prestigious Newbery Medal!
Book Review: Wonderfully Imaginative
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Graveyard Book" is the first of Neil Gaiman's work I've read. It's not hard to see why he is so popular- he has a gift for narration, and "Graveyard Book" delivers plenty of that. Moreover, the story is intriguing and emotionally honest- a good combination to have in a young reader's book.
"Graveyard Book" starts out very grimly. The man Jack murders a family, and is about to murder a toddler but he wandered out of the house before Jack had arrived, and found his way to the nearest graveyard. A mysterious man named Silas protects him and manages to drive Jack away. Afterward, the toddler is given the name Nobody, because no one knows his name, and the last name of Owens, because two of the graveyard residents with the last name Owens agree to be his surrogate parents.
The bulk of the book is about Nobody's (or Bod's) challenges in growing up. The graveyard residents, who the "real world" can't see, teach him things like how to become invisible and walk in dreams. Bod's bodyguard, Silas (who is probably a vampire though that is never explicitly stated) tells Bod that he must stay in the graveyard until the right time, because of the danger he would be in. But Bod, being the disobedient child he is, wants to go off on adventures. He is almost captured by Ghouls at one point, but that's just the beginning. He soon decides, around age 12, that he needs to leave and go to a school with people like him, against Silas's express wishes. Bod deals with some bullies in school, meets an old friend that he played with in his younger years, and then sees that he cannot run from his most dangerous threat forever. And from there, I will let the reader learn about the rest.
What really struck me about the book is how Gaiman blends together captivating fantasy with real emotional honesty. For example, Bod inhabits a world of the supernatural- he lives among ghosts in a graveyard and has to deal with other supernatural beings- but the characters and story all have real emotion. Bod really does want to get out and see the world and refuses to accept that there may not be positive consequences to his actions. In addition, the drama he has at school and with his childhood friend, and the danger he faces from Jack, are all honest, suspenseful, and not sugar-coated. In sum, I recommend "The Graveyard Book" to kids of all ages who are looking for a dark, captivating story.
Book Review: It Takes a Graveyard
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a moment in Gaiman's opus Sandman which stands out to this day. As punishment to a writer, a power curses him with an endless flow of ideas which he can neither control nor even pause to write (the two that I remember were about a "were-goldfish" and a man who inherits a library card to the great library at Alexandria). What stood out was how each of the ideas was intriguing as it was bizarre. Reading the Grave Yard Book I am reminded of the question that occurred to me at the time - how close is that character's experience to Neil Gaiman's real life?
Long recognized by those readers who appreciate his extraordinary imagination and his gift for prose, The Grave Yard book serves as a case in point; how does Gaiman come up with these ideas? A series of linked short stories, the novel features the protagonist of "Nobody Owens," who as a toddler after the murder of his family wonders into a grave yard where the Ghosts in residence adopt him agreeing to raise him as there own. What follows are a series of linked short stories, each bearing the author's trademarks of dark humor, a deep understanding of a variety of topics mundane and arcane, and an ability to take common myths in uncommon new directions.
No one would be surprised at the gallows humor which run through this work, yet it is Gaiman's sensitivity to his characters which marks this work with a tenderness not found in much of his other work (Sandman standing out for me as a notable exception). In his treatment of Nobody's struggles Gaiman show's a tenderness for his circumstance, while at the same time tapping into a number of universal themes of the challenges of childhood. Gaiman famously composed his Stardust as a sort of homage to a time when distinctions of genre were far less severe and high fiction fantasy was noted more for the former description than the latter (such as Tolkien's day). In the same way, the Grave Yard Book shows flashes for Gaiman's appreciation of the Brother's Grimm.
In the end, the highest two points of praise I can give this book are that not only could I not put it down, but also that I seem unable to stop recommending it to near everyone I see. As is so often the case in his work, Gaiman has crafted a world at once unique, familiar, scary, and wholly mesmerizing.
Book Review: Coming of age
Summary: 4 Stars
The Graveyard Book is a wonderful coming of age story ... with a bit of a twist. This is the story of Nobody "Bod" Owens as he grows from a toddler to a young man. He has a family and the usual ups and downs of childhood as he struggles to grow up. Bod is like any other child, in many ways, except his mom and dad are ghosts, his guardian is undead, and he lives in a graveyard that he may not leave without placing himself in mortal danger.
Silas, Bod's guardian, is a rather endearing figure considering his nature as a creature of the night. He is protective of Bod and, unknown to us throughout most of the story, he strives to right the great wrong that took Bod's natural family from him and placed him in the arms of the graveyard. Silas is every child's dream of that adult who, unlike parents, understands you and will be truthful in explaining the mysteries of the grown-up world.
Most of those who live in the graveyard are protective of Bod, but there are those who would cause him harm. The indigo man, the sleer, and the ghouls are sufficiently creepy, but creepiest of all is Jack the assassin. Jack is a shadowy figure who seems to ooze evil. He reminded me a bit of the child catcher in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Remember him? He could sniff out children with his long ugly nose in order to capture and cage them. Similarly, Jack can find Bod by following his scent. Shiver.
Several of the chapters in The Graveyard Book could stand on their own as short stories and perhaps, unknown to me, they have been published as such. My favorite chapter is the enchanting "Danse Macabre." It sparkles with some of the Gaiman magic found in Stardust and is a bit of a treatise on the idea that there is more to this life than what we see and that "being" is more than the corporeal.
The ending was bittersweet, as are most coming of age stories. There was a palpable sadness and excitement as Bod left the safety of his graveyard home and family in order to venture into a largely unknown and living world. Bod captures this well when he says:
"I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands. I want to leave a footprint on the sand of a desert island. I want to play football with people. I want," he said, and then he paused and he thought. "I want everything."