The Graveyard Book was my first Neil Gaiman novel. Despite the fact that bloggers seem to have a special fondness for Gaiman, I just never felt inclined to give his books a read. I’m not a huge fan of fantasy (I’m not sure why) and I’m also less inclined to read something just because the crowd is reading it. That said, I was amazed by this book.
I sat and read the first 25 pages or so in the library after I picked it up, while my son played with the puzzles in the children’s area. It was engaging. So at about 9:30 or 10 p.m., I thought I’d read a little more to help me fall asleep.
I stayed up to finish it.
I never do that. My son awakes between 6 or 7 a.m. no matter what time I go to bed, so I’m usually eager to get my sleep. But there was something about The Graveyard Book that kept my attention. There’s something about the world and characters Gaiman creates that is familiar and fun. Although The Graveyard Book takes place (appropriately enough) in a graveyard and the main character is a boy raised by ghosts and the undead, it was familiar to me and yes, it was fun. How did Gaiman do that? I’m not sure.
I think Gaiman’s mastery is of the familiar story-telling tone. It is written in such an easily accessible tone that I couldn’t help but turn the page to find out what happens next. The stories are interesting as well. We are not familiar with life in a graveyard, but Bod’s little adventures with the ghosts that reside there are told in a way that I want to know what comes next. Overall, it was incredibly well done.
All that said, I think parents should read this book before handing it to young kids, for it does have scary themes that not all children could deal with. Nobody Owens (Bod) is raised in a cemetery, with his main guardian a vampire. (If you read my recent post on Dracula, you’ll know that I’m not keen on vampires.) There is also a scary creature (called a Sleer) in a tomb that may disturb children, and ghouls kidnap Bod.
The scariest parts, however, revolve around the humans that are trying to kill him. The first sentence jarred me (a man with a knife), and the entire first chapter is about how a scary man murders a family, minus the baby who escapes (the infant Bod). The underlying plot of that first chapter is incredibly sinister, and yet it doesn’t seem scary. The murder returns in a later chapter, and Bod is truly a child in danger.
I’m not saying children shouldn’t read this book. The non-scary tone reminded me of Roald Dahl’s books (which I haven’t read since I was a child). Dahl’s books had scary and supernatural elements, but there were overall lots of fun. The Graveyard Book felt similar in playfulness, despite the murderer and ghost setting.
Apparently, Gaiman was inspired by The Jungle Book (reviewed here) to write The Graveyard Book. I can see the resemblance, as some of the plot elements (the kidnapping, the return to society) were similar. I can’t say which I prefer; I enjoy both of them. I just hope Gaiman doesn’t try to write a sequel to The Graveyard Book. It’s great as it is (and sequels ruin good things for me).
I picked up The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman partly because it won the Newbery Medal, and I have a goal to read all the winners of that award. I also chose it for the RIP IV Challenge.
This is one of those books that I see everywhere and really have to get around to picking up!
So glad that you enjoyed this, Rebecca! I am one of the many bloggers who love Neil Gaiman and think that he is undoubtedly one of the best storytellers alive. If you can, try to listen to something of his in audio as he also has one of the best narrating voices and read his adult work.
I was lucky enough to hear him read aloud from The Graveyard Book last Hallowe’en (and sign my copy, complete with a drawn gravestone with my name on it!) and it was fantastic.
I hope I enjoy this. Gaiman’s more hit or miss for me, but I tend to like his YA-and-younger stuff. I just hope it gets here in time for the readathon!
We read this on our way back from our honeymoon (well, I read it aloud in the car!), and reviewed it back in July: http://www.stephandtonyinvestigate.com/?p=1946
Like you, I haven’t read much Gaiman in the past (just one other book which I didn’t care for very much at all), but I did like this a good deal. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite as much as you did, mostly because I couldn’t help comparing it to Harry Potter and finding it came up short, but it was certainly an entertaining yarn.
I’ve got this one waiting for me at the library at this very moment. I reserved the audiobook format, so I hope it’s just as engaging as the your experience with the actual book.
I hope this starts you on a wondrous journey of reading Gaiman!
Sounds like a worthwhile read…I may have to check this one out!
{new to book blogging here…just wanted to tell you I love your blog!}
I’ve not read this particular Gaiman book but I do like him very much. I have read an excerpt, he includes a chapter of the book in his short story book M is for Magic and I was enchanted. I look forward to getting to Graveyard Book one of these days!
JT, it’s lots of fun!
Claire, awesome story of meeting Gaiman!! Wow! I agree, it’s the story-telling aspect that made this great. I was going to listen to the audio but the cd was scratched so I went back to the library and got the book.
Amanda, great read-a-thon choice! I gave myself a mini-read-a-thon the night I read it!
Steph, I do remember seeing your review. Off to add it! I put the title in Fyrefly’s search and seriously a hundred came up, so I just got the first ones I saw.
I found it completely different from Harry Potter so I didn’t find myself comparing at all! Very good though!
Stephanie, I was going to listen to the audio — Gaiman does it himself and it has won awards — but the CD was scratched so it wouldn’t play so I went with the physical book this time around. I hope you enjoy it!!
Trisha, I’m thinking yes….
debilyn, thanks so much! Off to check out your blog too! Welcome to blogging!
Stefanie, Graveyard Book was set up as short stories for the most part. It has an underlying plot, but overall each chapter could stand alone. I’m looking forward to more Gaiman!
Well written review. (Yours I mean.) Mine’s here:
http://oohbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-graveyard-book.html
I’m not a huge Neil Gaiman fan. Like you, I have no idea why. His one book that I have read (and finished) is Coraline. I loved it! I listened to it on CD with my bonus boys and they were incredibly creeped out 😉
I’m interested in reading this book, but it seems I have to be in a very particular mood to pick up Gaiman.
Fantastic review! You’ve made me really anxious to read this book!
I’m glad to know that you’ve enjoyed The Graveyard Book. I’ve already read it but I’m thinking about re-reading it for the read-a-thon.
I LOVED this one. I even cried at the end.
http://reviewsofthings.blogspot.com/2009/04/it-takes-graveyard-to-raise-child.html
Oh, I’m so excited to read your review! I’m reading nothing but Gaiman next month (his birthday month) and The Graveyard Book is one of the books I’ll be reading.
This was my first Gaiman book, and I loved it! Glad to see that you did too. Here’s my review: http://www.michellesmastermusings.com/2009/09/review-graveyard-book-by-neil-gaiman.html
Cara, thanks! I’ll link to yours!
Tracie, maybe we’re both just trying to resist following the crowd? I guess the crowd has a reason, huh? I’m looking forward to Coraline now!
Kathy, I hope you love it!
Vasilly, a good read-a-thon choice!
Ladytink, I’ll add a link to yours!
Literate Housewife, wow, a month of Gaiman! I hope it’s fun!
Michelle, I’ll add a link to yours!
I have to admit that I didn’t love this book as much as other people did. I had the same reservations you had before reading it, but mine were realised. I will ensure my boys get to read this when they are a bit older, but it was a bit too basic for me to enjoy.
I was just gathering reviews for my review of this book, and saw your note on Bod’s guardian being a vampire. I had no idea! I didn’t pick up on that at all. Maybe it’s just because it was fast readathon reading, but seriously I just never picked up on that. That completely blows me out of the water. 😀
Jackie, I read it as entertainment for myself, not for my son. It reminded me of Roald Dahl in “scariness” though: It was light-hearted scariness. I enjoyed Dahl without being scared as a kid, so I would suspect older kids would be okay with this too.
Amanda, I read this right after Dracula, so the hints were made obvious to me! glad to hear it’s easy to miss, since the idea bothers me…
I totally missed the vampire bit, too, until I started looking at the discussion boards. Did you know there are discussion boards dedicated to The Graveyard Book?
Cara Powers, I didn’t know about discussion boards. I’m not that much of a fan to go read them, though!! Already am on to the next book(s)…
I was wondering if any of you could explain why you found Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” so fascinating? I read it recently but I do not understand why everyone likes it so much. Is it the metaphor of adulthood, the mysterious characters or the irony of the boy’s name…? I feel as if everyone is enjoying a desert and I am the odd one out who finds it unappetizing.
Kirsty, I enjoyed it because it seemed light-hearted all the while it took place in a cemetery of all places, and I found Gaiman’s story-telling ability to be very impressive. I also enjoyed seeing how Bod grew up: his development was realistic to me.
But I am one who does not often enjoy the book everyone else enjoys, so I completely understand where you are coming from. Don’t feel like the odd one out–just go on to the next book and forget about it. I hope you enjoy your next book more!
Thank you Rebecca for replying! Now I better understand why someone would enjoy the book. I bet if I read it again it might not appear as dark as it did the first time I read it.