Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
No. of Pages: 307
First Released: 2008
Synopsis (Courtesy of B&N): “Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family . . .”
Comments and Critique: My friend, Stephanie at Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-a-Holic, is the one who convinced me to read this book. Her gushing over anything by Neil Gaiman, and my complete trust in anything she loves sealed my fate as to whether I would eventually pick up this book or not. I owe her, yet again, for this because The Graveyard Book is an amazing book.
I tend to shy away from horror or anything remotely scary. If a scene gets too intense, I have to put down the book and switch to something lighter (because I’m a huge coward). Mr. Gaiman got me up to the point where I was getting ready to put down the book but never took me over the edge where I had to do so. I was so engaged while reading that what felt like a little time and only a few pages grew into a lot of time and many pages without me realizing it. I was shocked when I saw that after two nights of bedtime reading (typically the twenty minutes or so that I can last before literally passing out), I was more than halfway done with the book. I was kept so enthralled with the book that time, and the pages, literally flew.
The Graveyard Book is filled with great characters. Bod, who struggles to maintain his humanity even when he does not realize just how unique he is, gains the reader’s sympathy from the moment he crawls out of his crib. Silas, as his guardian, is more his father figure than Bod’s “true” father, the ghostly Mr. Owens. In his mysterious way, he does more to teach Bod about life beyond the graveyard than Bod truly realizes. There is a sense of danger and yet of complete and utter safety that exists around Silas that makes me think there is definitely another story there (hint, hint Mr. Gaiman).
I love how the horror and the mythical elements are not overdone. Any other author could have truly made the ghouls grotesque and horrific or even made Ms. Lupescu terrifying. Rather, I felt that Mr. Gaiman respected and gave tribute to each legend. This was his homage to each mythical character, if you will. That respect made them friendlier but also more realistic. It is much easier to imagine Mr. Gaiman’s definition of ghosts in a cemetery than some other versions of them.
As I mentioned, I felt that Mr. Gaiman did a fantastic job of taking the reader right up to the edge of terror without going overboard. Even though it is YA, I was waiting to read it first before I gave it to my nine-year-old to read. I was afraid the subject matter was a bit too mature for him. Now that I’ve finished, I can’t wait for him to read it to see his reaction. If I liked it so much, I can only imagine how someone in the target audience will react to it.
I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night!
Rebecca – I agree that the humans were the scariest. Jack with the knife was horrifying, but Silas was not. And my son was hesitant to read it based on that first chapter. He did eventually finish it. His opinion: “It's okay. It's a bit weird.” So, dark, supernatural fantasy lover he is not. Oh well. I enjoyed it!
I also dislike scary books. But this one was okay for me.
Ironically, I think it was the humans that were scariest in this book: the entire first chapter-murder sequence was what I think would make me hesitate to give it to a kid. But, as you say, it doesn't FEEL scary, despite the plot!
I ended up loving this too. It was slow at first, but once they got to ghulheim…
Here's my review. 🙂
Oh Michelle, I'm so glad you liked this book!! It truly is one of my favorites, and I hate when people don't like books I recommend.
Gaiman's books are rarely scary in the boogeyman will jump out of your closet scary. But they are different. American Gods is probaby my favorite, but it is not a book for everyone. I think you would like it. It's all about myths and legends. It's hard to explain. But it blew me away! Anansi Boy's is right up there too, with a lot of the same characters as American Gods. And Neverwhere was wonderful. I can gush all day 🙂
Again, I'm so glad you liked it!
Thanks, Carl! It was great introduction to Gaiman!
Wonderful review. I am so glad that you enjoyed the experience. This is one of my favorite Gaiman stories and although I understand completely that we all have different tastes it always makes me a bit sad when someone doesn't enjoy this book.
I like what you had to say about Gaiman's more realistic renderings of the mythological characters. You are completely correct. I don't think I had ever made that connection but you are right one. It does make them more interesting and less unbelievable characters in the story.
bermudaonion – My son is reading the Coraline graphic novel now. He's really enjoying it.
This is in my TBR pile and I'm really anxious to read it. I've only read one other Gaiman book – Coraline – and I thought it was great.
Sarbear – You are definitely not alone in your love for Neil Gaiman. He is my friend's fave author, so I figured I needed to see what all the fuss is about.
Ceri – This was my first Gaiman too, if you don't count watching the movie Coraline. He is definitely an interesting author. Creepy but not overly so in a Tim Burton-esque kind of way.
Book pusher – I have heard wonderful things about the audio version of this book. I will definitely have to check it out. Thanks!
DesLily – I will definitely be checking out more of Gaiman's works.
i too enjoyed this book. I've only read Stardust and this book by Gaiman and although I am a fantasy fan I liked graveyard better!
I'm like you… dont like too much gore or horror lol
I also really liked this book. Gaiman has made available an audio version on his kids website, he read a chapter at each stop on a book tour and he has posted it up on Mousecircus if your interested. It would actually be a good book to read aloud with kids. It is a fascinating book. Enjoyed your review.
A friend of mine lent me a collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman earlier this year. I kind of enjoyed them but not enough that I actually finished the book. 😛 … However, hearing the synopsis of this, it really makes me want to get a hold of a copy. 😀 Great review as always Michelle.
I love Neil Gaiman — I have some of his other books on my to-be-read pile. I'm glad you enjoyed it!