25.Apr.2009 at 25 | jspeyton
The Graveyard Book: A Review
On tepid feelings, a murder mystery, a graveyard, and families:
I admit, I wasn’t all that impressed with Coraline when I read it. It was cute and fun in parts, but not nearly as engaging as I’d found most of Neil Gaiman’s short stories. Besides that, I didn’t find it nearly as dark or as suspensful as other readers seemed to. I also didn’t believe for a second that the resourseful Coraline wouldn’t find a way out of her various predicaments, which in many ways, made the book predictable as well. Maybe I only liked Gaiman’s short stories, I thought. Or maybe, I should just be more careful of the books I picked in the YA genre.
That’s all to say that when The Graveyard Book came out, my response was incredibly tepid. I figured I would read it in the future, but I certainly wasn’t in any hurry. Then one day, I found myself in an airport bookstore looking for another YA book to love as much as I’d loved The Amber Spyglass, when my eye fell upon The Graveyard Book. Eh, what the hell? It couldn’t hurt.
The Graveyard Book is the story of Nobody (Bod) Owens who is special for many reasons, but here are a few: when Bod was a baby, his family was murdered in the middle of the night by a mysterious man. Bod escaped a similar fate by crawling to the nearby cemetary where he’s saved and raised by the cemetery’s ghostly inhabitants. For years, Bod grows up in the (relative) safety of the cemetary until one day he decides that it’s time to learn the truth about his history, and discover exactly who killed his family and why. The Graveyard Book is the story of Nobody’s journey.
If Neil Gaiman needed to redeem himself in my book, he has certainly do so with The Graveyard Book. In fact, it may be my favorite of all the Neil Gaiman things I’ve read. I liked this much more than I liked Coraline. Why? Well, because I found this book a whole lot less predictable than Coraline. There were many times when I actually feared for Bod’s safety – starting all the way at the beginning when Bod’s family is killed. I thought I’d understood that part of the book wrong, so great was my surprise that Gaiman had actually killed off an entire family in the first few pages. That surprise and uncertainty is one of the reasons why The Graveyard Book seems significantly darker than Coraline.
I also loved the cast of characters. Bod keeps excellent company in that graveyard of his. I loved everyone from the kind-hearted Mr. and Mrs. Owens to the three bumbling ghouls, the Duke of Westminister, the Honorable Archibald Fitzhugh, and the Bishop of Bath and Wells. I loved Eliza Hempstock, the witch, and Miss Lupescu, the werewolf taskmaster. And I especially loved Silas.
Which leads me to say that Mr. Gaiman is a tease, isn’t he? He provided just enough details about Silas to make him incredibly interesting, but left all of the important questions – why is he in the cemetary? what did he do in his past? why can’t he go home? where is he going when he leaves the cemetary? – a mystery. He does the same thing with Bod’s fate too, i.e. what he does and where he goes when he leaves the cemetary. I so wanted to follow both of them on their journey; I wanted to know of the adventures they found themselves in.
But those things remain a mystery, which is just what life is – a mystery. When any of us start out on that road from home, whether it’s going off to college or starting our first job, none of us know what adventures there are that await us. I had a handful of dreams when I left home for college, but I could not have predicted the succession of events that led from there to where I am right now. That’s what children find so appealing about adulthood: the sense of adventure.
Which all, I suppose, makes this a coming-of-age story and, in some ways, it is. But it’s also about family. It’s about how you don’t need a traditional family to find a sense of belonging or to know that you are loved. You can find them in some of the most unlikeliest of places – in a graveyard, perhaps. Or maybe even in the jungle with a bear friend.*
I didn’t want The Graveyard Book to end. Now that it has, I can’t wait for Gaiman’s next book – be it a short story, a novel, or a YA book. Whatever it is, I can guarantee that my response will be anything but tepid. Highly recommended.
There was a hand in the darkness and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately.
That knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blad and the handle were wet.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins / Oct. 2008
$17.00 / 312 pps
* I’ve never read The Jungle Book, although I have seen the Disney movie, which I had always thought sufficient. After reading The Graveyard Book I downloaded a copy of The Jungle Book to my iPhone and I’ve been reading a few pages here and there ever since.
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Great review! I think you’ve highlighted many of the things that made this such a great read.
I enjoyed Coraline – maybe because I saw the movie first – and have this one on my wish list.
I saw a bunch of people reading this a while back but I have never really been on the Gaiman fun train, so I didn’t feel the need to rush out and read it. I had a bad experience with Stardust a few years back, which kind of put me off of him, but then we did go see Coraline in the theater and I really enjoyed it (even if parts of it were predictable/inexplicable). I had been toying with potentially giving Gaiman another shot after that, and your review has convinced me to give The Graveyard Book some time. I wonder how long the wait for it is at the library…
Great review. I actually had this in my hot little hands for a while, but had to return it to the library unread because of the state of my tbr pile. I’ll need to get a hold of it again.
My partner just finished this one and he loved it so I will pick it up soon. Thanks for the great review.
Neil Gaiman is somewhat hit-or-miss for me, but The Graveyard Book was a definite hit. I loved it!
I agree with this being an unpredictable book. I certainly didn’t see a certain part of the ending coming. But this was a great one and I regret lending my copy to a friend who has had it for a couple of months now! I am already ready for a quick re-read.
Glad you enjoyed it. I read it recently and thought it was pretty good too. I think it was my first Neil Gaiman’s (apart from the Sandman – which is graphic novel). I have yet to read Coraline.
I liked Silas best
Thanks for your comments on mine – the Fadiman I read was her book of essays, At Large and Small which was very good, but I’ve also read Ex Libris as you have. I notice The Graveyard book is five stars on Amazon – definitely one to watch out for I think.
You wrote a great review! Gaiman did leave the mystery of Silas to the readers. I read it months ago and will probably read it again soon.
I have heard this is like the “Jungle Book”, which I enjoyed. But I don’t like “scary” ghost books so I’m a bit wary. I’ll probably still read it because I want to read all Newbery winners someday.
I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to scary books/movies, so the level of darkness in Coraline was about right for me, and I really enjoyed it. But I agree that The Graveyard Book is far superior. And I also agree that what Gaiman left unwritten adds to the book as much as what he wrote. Definitely a worthy Newbery winner.
Glad you enjoyed this one, I want to read it.
Memory: Thank you!
Kathy: Oddly enough, I do want to see the movie. I think I’d enjoy it much more than the book. lol
Steph: I totally get what you mean about Gaiman being kind of hit or miss. I’ve tried to start Stardust a few times and haven’t had much luck. I’d give The Graveyard Book a try though. You might be surprised.
Belle: I hope you get a chance to read it soon! You’ll love it.
Karen: I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Elizabeth: I haven’t been of everything Gaiman’s writing either, but this one is one of my favorites. Everything Gaiman does well, he did it in this book.
Kristen: Two months?! You should charge late fees! LoL.
Mee: A lot of people seem to like “Coraline.” I think it was just a little too simple for me. At least for what I expecting. It is cute, though!
Lightheaded: He was so mysterious! And secretive. I liked Ms. Lupescu too. I wanted to know more about her as well.
Tom C: At Large, At Small is another of her books that I want to read. It’s pretty high up on the TBR list.
Vasilly: I’d like to re-read this myself, though I think I’d have a hard time fitting this in with my reading schedule at the time. I need to designate at least a month out of the year for re-reads. Hmm, maybe I’ll do that for the next readathon.
Rebecca: You should give The Graveyard Book a try. It’s not really scary at all, despite the ghosts and such. It’s a little suspenseful, but nothing at all to make you jump at shadows.
Molly: It certainly was. Now that I’m interested in reading YA novels, it makes me want to read previous Newbury Award winners.
S. Krishna: I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Very nice review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this wonderful book. The only thing more pleasurable than reading it for ones self is listening to Neil Gaiman read it on audio. I have done both and both come highly recommended! Neverwhere will probably always be my favorite Neil Gaiman book, in some ways because it is the first novel of his that I read but also because I absolutely love the story, but The Graveyard Book will definitely remain right near the top because it is an amazingly realized piece of fiction.
I also liked this one better than Coraline. Gaiman is kind of a tease, isn’t he?