BOOK: The Graveyard Book
Author: The always amazing Neil Gaiman
Genre: Mystery/Award Winner
Recommended Age: 13 and up
Scale: 10/10
Ultimate Book Verdict: The Graveyard book is another example of Neil Gaiman’s genius.
Summary: The story begins when a tiny seemingly insignificant toddler escapes his house after a mad man slaughters his entire family. The tiny child crawls out of the house and up the hill to a small old graveyard and the ghosts that live there decide to adopt the living child. The ghosts decide to adopt that baby and give him the name of Nobody Owens. The young toddler is also granted the Freedom of the Graveyard. Silas (a mysterious man who has also been granted sanctuary) accepts the duty of providing and teaching Nobody.
The bulk of the book is about Nobody’s (often called Bod) adventures in and out of the grave as he grows up. The inhabitants of the graveyard teach him magic and tricks, but never let him forget that he is a living boy and must one day leave the graveyard. In later chapters the man who murdered Nobody’s family is confronted and defeated and Nobody leaves the graveyard for the great beyond.
Thoughts and Opinions:
At first I couldn’t understand what it was that made this particular piece of young adult fiction feel so real and important and compelling. Most authors of young adult fiction write books that feature an adolescent protagonist and describe challenges that the average teenager would be able to relate to. Nobody Owens spends half of the book as a toddler and small child. Similarly, his challenges are supernatural, surreal, and absurd.
I spend a few afternoons trying to understand why I couldn’t stop thinking about this novel. Finally, I realized that the main challenge that Nobody faces is not the problem of living in the graveyard. Nobody’s main challenge involves feeling alone and unconnected. He does not feel like he belongs.
Everyone feels alone and everyone can understand Nobody’s pain.
I also really enjoyed that the Gaiman did not shy away from the gothic and the macabre. I would even argue that Gaiman’s descriptions of moss-covered headstones and lonely spirits are endearing and delightful. It reminds me of early Tim Burton poems, and those delightfully horrible old moral tales that parent’s used to tell their children to scare them into good manners.
Overall, I think that the Graveyard book is a perfect read for children and young adults and older readers.
Read Alikes: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy by Tim Burton and Stardust ( also by Neil Gaiman).
Very interesting subject matter. Nicely thought out. The Graveyard Book has a solid structure and foundation to an adventurous and carefully thought out storyline.