The Graveyard Book in Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy

Oct 12, 2011 Brenda Clough rated it really liked it

This review originally appeared in the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Magazine (www.iccfa.com).
As he tells it, author Neil Gaiman got the idea for “The Graveyard Book” 20 years ago. He kept it on the back burner until he felt he was a good enough writer to do justice to the idea. It was worth the wait.
A novel for older children, “The Graveyard Book” won the 2009 Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children’s literature, and spent 15 weeks on The New York Times bestseller l This review originally appeared in the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Magazine (www.iccfa.com).
As he tells it, author Neil Gaiman got the idea for “The Graveyard Book” 20 years ago. He kept it on the back burner until he felt he was a good enough writer to do justice to the idea. It was worth the wait.
A novel for older children, “The Graveyard Book” won the 2009 Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children’s literature, and spent 15 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
Through his fantasy and comic book writing Gaiman has been exerting a powerful influence upon the cultural perception of death, cemeteries and funerals. (A review of Gaiman’s “Sandman” ran in the March-April 2006 issue.) All those pale, skinny teenage girls in black tank tops with heavy eyeliner and ankh necklaces you’ve seen the past decade? They’re his fault.
In this novel, set in a large historic cemetery in an English city, the cemetery is a friendly refuge. An orphaned little boy wanders in and is adopted by the kindly resident ghosts, who name him Bod (for Nobody) and raise him up to manhood. Although there are plenty of scary incidents and thrilling adventures, we never feel that Bod is in dire peril. This is not a high-pressure page-turner, but a good “chapter” book, one you could read a chapter of every evening.
Many of Bod’s adventures will seem familiar to readers of English literature, or anybody who’s seen Disney’s The Jungle Book. This is a deliberate tip of the hat by Gaiman, who also makes a literary bow to “A Fine And Private Place,” by Peter S. Beagle.
There is a considerable tradition in children’s fiction of dangerous places or people (pirates, jungles, under the sea, islands, other planets, wolves, and so on) that turn out to be friendly to young people, and this book fits nicely into that line.
This novel probably is not a book to sell or refer customers to, but would make a great gift to a young reader. Highly positive fiction about cemeteries is never to be sneezed at, and as a Newbery winner, “The Graveyard Book” will be on school and library reading lists for decades to come.
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Jul 12, 2010 Mewsagi rated it really liked it

This was the first book I decided to read from Mr. Gaiman. I thought it was a very sad and beautiful book. While I'm not too sure if I agree with the age appropriateness of this book I enjoyed it. The characters were interesting but I wish they had been developed a little more. The overall theme of this book is somewhat similar to the Jungle Book but with a morbid twist. I appreciate the fact that this book is not entirely predictable and has some surprises in it. I can definitely say I'm intere ...more

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