Book Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman

Why I read it: Because I will read anything written by Neil Gaiman…anything!

Plot: Nobody Owens, a precocious toddler in modern Britain, is adopted by the residents of the graveyard to save him from the man that murdered his family. Growing up among ghosts from all time periods Bod has a series of adventures leading him eventually to the confrontation with the men that want him dead and the much more scary confrontation with growing up.

Style: True to Gaiman fashion the book is delightfully otherworldly, humorous, poignant and slightly macabre. There are many fun turns of phrase and interesting philosophical thoughts peppered throughout. At its heart this is really a children’s story suitable for ages 5 and up.

Thoughts: As previously mentioned I really like Neil Gaiman. So I had high expectations for this book. When in a cemetery I always find myself wondering about each headstone and the story behind it. Gaiman gives these headstones a story and an afterlife. Bod is a fun hero with uncanny abilities that he thinks are normal.

At times the book felt almost like a hodge-podge of separate stories. As we skim through Bod’s life, only touching on his most significant adventures. Obviously this was necessary since the story covers roughly 16 years of time. There are strong coming of age themes and I got choked up at more then one point. In the end it was a pleasure to peer into Bod’s exceptional life and wonder at the possibility.

Quotables:

"It is neither fair nor unfair, Nobody Owens. It simply is."

"Able to slip from shadow to shadow, never seen, never suspected. Free as air, fast as thought, cold as frost, hard as nails, dangerous as, as us."- Pronounced by a ghoul

"Wherever you go, you take yourself with you."

"He could no more hug Silas than he could hold a moonbeam, not because his guardian was insubstantial, but because it would be wrong. There were people you could hug and then there was Silas."

"You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing and there's nothing you can do about it."

If you liked... Gaiman’s Stardust or Coraline this is definitely up your ally. Also James and the Giant Peach and The Jungle Book.