REVIEW: The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060530928
ISBN-13: 978-0060530921
Genre: Horror/Fantasy
Page Count: 320 pages
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Release Date: September 2008

First line:
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

Publisher's Summary:

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. . . .

I have to admit, I've never much liked Neil Gaiman's novel-length fiction. I'm not saying his other novel work isn't good, it just didn't resonate with me the way his work in comics and graphic novels did - most notably Sandman.

I haven't read the Sandman series in years (note to self: correct that ASAP). The Graveyard Book reminded me how much of a master storyteller Gaiman really is. So much so that this book hit the #1 slot on the New York Times YA bestseller list.

The Graveyard Book is Gaiman's unique riff on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 story collection The Jungle Book. Instead of a Mowgli, he tells the tale of Nobody Owens (call him Bod if you're nasty).

Instead of a jungle we get a graveyard. Nobody Owens is orphaned in the opening pages of the book by a serial killer, and Bod ends up growing up in a graveyard, cared for by the wonderfully rich cast of ghosts and spirits who live there.

I won't delve into the plot (too spoilery) but its basically a coming of age story. The chapters are only loosely tied together, though there is a common thread of back story that eventually comes to light as we watch Bod grow up.

The important thing here is Gaiman's brilliant prose, memorable characters, and rich tapestry of 'myth' that surrounds the world of the graveyard Bod inhabits.

During his years writing Sandman, there were plenty of multiple issue story arcs that didn't focus completely on the title character. Gaiman would lead us off the beaten path into magical, mythical worlds and introduce us to new and interesting supporting characters. It was one of the charms of that series that, in my opinion, made it a body of literary work* that will outlive us all.

Nobody Owens' tale in The Graveyard Book would have fit right in with the Sandman issues. That is the highest form of praise I could give it.

Gaiman is not only a fantastic writer, he is a damn good narrator. Maybe its the accent or the fact that he's reading his own work but listening to him narrate the story is a real treat. He did a promotional tour where he read one chapter at each stop of the tour, and published it to the web. They've uploaded 8 out of 9 chapters already. When he's done, you can listen/watch as he reads the entire book.

Rating 5/5

*If you are wondering how a graphic novel could possibly be called a literary work, you've clearly never had the pleasure of reading the Sandman series. Go out and buy the Sandman series along with The Graveyard Book. You won't be disappointed.