Book Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

Publication: October 2008

Format: Paperback, 289 pages

Buy: Amazon

I don’t know what it is with me and Gaiman. I found myself wanting to read more from him when I found his book on the bookshelf.

It started with a murder. Nobody Owens or Bod’s family was murdered by the man Jack. When the Owenses (the ghost couple) found him in the graveyard, they decided to raise him along with Silas, his guardian (who provided him with food etc). He was given a freedom of the graveyard so that he may have access to everywhere in the graveyard. 

The story then followed Bod and his adventure in and outside the graveyard as he grew up. When he was five, he met his human friend, Scarlett, who thought that Bod was her imaginary friend. Later Bod and Scarlett were separated when she moved away to Scotland with her parents. As he grew up, Bod was captured by the ghouls and later saved by his tutor, Miss Lupescu, and he befriend with a witch ghost called Liza. He went to school which end up in disaster when he failed to keep a low profile.

As years past, Bod learned about where he came from and began to do a bit of research in what happened to his actual family while trying to keep safe from the man Jack, who was still looking for him.

Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book was inspired by The Jungle Book where the baby was raised by ghosts instead of animals. It was a fun, short read. I really enjoyed Gaiman’s writing in this one. I might have finished the book in one sitting if I wasn’t so busy with these days. This book is definitely my favorite from Gaiman up to date.

Book Cover's Description:

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-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.

But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .

Book Review: Coraline

Coraline

Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell

Format: Graphic Novel

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror

Publication: 2008

Rating: 3/5

Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.

I read the graphic novel while waiting for my sister studying in the library. This graphic novel is an adaption of Neil Gaiman's novel with the same title, Coraline and illustrated by P. Craig Russell.

It was an interesting read. I really enjoy the book. It was a short and easy read. I love the character, the adventure she had to save her parents and the people she met (including the talking cat!). However I found that the illustration was a bit creepy for my liking.

Book Review: American Gods

Title: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy

Publication: 2003

Rating: 3/5

Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.

Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.

He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the same...

Neil Gaiman's American Gods was probably the strangest book I have ever bought. It wasn't the genre I read. But I decided to give it a try when I saw many people went crazy for Neil Gaiman a few years ago. The thing is, I bought this copy in 2005. I read it halfway up to the part where they were talking about tiger balls. I picked up this book again two weeks ago, and decided to give it a try.

This is my first Neil Gaiman book. I was searching for Stardust, but the book was out of stock. So, I decided to give this one a try. The first part was interesting. But it get a bit confusing after a while. There were lots of characters. And I had a hard time keeping up with what is happening when the scene changed a few times, There were times where I questioned why certain characters were there. They didn't seem important. Some scene makes me wonder if the story strayed from its point.

It was a long read. But it was also a page turner. What makes me continue to finish this book was to find out what happened to Shadow. Neil Gaiman is a talented writer and I enjoyed his writing style and narration throughout the book. I might give his other books a try.