The Graveyard Book in Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy

Dec 09, 2011 Lamora rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I love anything spooky, so when I heard the sentence “It takes a graveyard to raise a child” coupled with “retelling of The Jungle Book” I just had to pick up this book. There has to be a little darkness and a little macabre fantasy in my favourite children’s literature and Neil Gaiman is the perfect fit.

“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.”
This is the first sentence I read and then I noticed Dave McKean’s illustration of the man Jack climbing up those stairs. A chill ran ...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Ash rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-read, 0-hugo-nebula, children-s-fantasy, ghosts, 0-locus, 0-newbery

Even though this book is full of ghosts and other monsters, it is not scary and does not come under horror category. It is a very sweet book about a boy who grows up in a graveyard with ghosts. I was able to predict the story but still it was kind of cute and very different from other stories I have come across. I am sure children/teenagers will enjoy this book more than I did.
Most importantly, I fell in love with Nobody Owens. His character was developed in a very nice manner. I also liked Sil ...more

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Feb 02, 2019 Jess rated it really liked it

Of the four Gaiman novels I’ve read, this one is my favorite. I love the little world of the graveyard, with its ghosts and laws and secrets. But most of all, I love Silas and his relationship with Bod. He’s not really a friend or a father, and his conversations with Bod — and how those conversations become increasingly fraught as Bod grows older — are the highlight of the novel for me.

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May 06, 2014 Karen rated it really liked it

GR really should allow half because I REALLY liked this and 4.5 stars feels perfect.

Stardust didn't completely make me a Gaiman fan, but this did ...more

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Apr 30, 2011 EA Solinas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites

Imagine Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book"... but replace the animals with ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and other such supernatural creatures.

Such is the concept of "The Graveyard Book," which cleverly turns Kipling's classic story into an exquisitely-written, darkly witty fantasy. While it starts as the assorted supernatural adventures of a young boy raised by ghosts, the story slowly evolves into a beautifully ghastly confrontation between Nobody Owens and the people who want to do him harm.

"There Imagine Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book"... but replace the animals with ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and other such supernatural creatures.

Such is the concept of "The Graveyard Book," which cleverly turns Kipling's classic story into an exquisitely-written, darkly witty fantasy. While it starts as the assorted supernatural adventures of a young boy raised by ghosts, the story slowly evolves into a beautifully ghastly confrontation between Nobody Owens and the people who want to do him harm.

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." A man named Jack kills an innocent family at night -- except for a baby boy, who toddles out to the graveyard.

With the approval of the Lady on the Grey, the Owens ghosts adopt the boy, whom they name Nobody (or "Bod" for short), and the mysterious not-dead-or-alive Silas is appointed his guardian. Bod slowly grows up, but his upbringing is hardly ordinary -- he is taught by a Hound of God, wanders into the horrific realm of Ghulheim, watches a danse macabre, and befriends a witch's spirit from the Potter's Field.

But the man named Jack is still out there, and for some reason he (and the organization he works for) still wants to kill Bod. And though Silas and the ghosts are trying to keep him safe, Bod is becoming curious about the world of living humans -- and about the man who murdered his family. And when they come for him, he'll be ready.

The world of Neil Gaiman is never a safe place -- it's always painted in shadows and shades of grey, and something horrible may be lurking around the corner. And the world of "The Graveyard Book" is no exception to this -- it's filled with strange supernatural creatures, hellish red cities with decayed moons overhead, and midnight parades where ghosts dance with the living.

The world of the graveyard is an intriguing one -- moonlight, crumbly headstones, a little stone church, and a creepy barrow where the Sleer lurk. From a lesser author this would be kind of boring, but Gaiman's beautiful prose brings it to life ("There was a silent implosion, a flutter of velvet darkness, and Silas was gone").

And Gaiman explores Bod's childhood with dark humour ("Can you imagine how fine a drink the black ichor that collects in leaden coffins can be?") and adventure. But the tone changes as Bod grows older, especially with the creepily professional Jack and his cohorts slowly closing in on him. It's a coming-of-age tale, and a bittersweet, sometimes terrifying one.

Bod himself is a lovable kid, who slowly explores first the world of the graveyard and then the world of the living. He's both ruthless and kind, sweet and strong. The mysterious Silas -- whose true nature is only revealed late in the book -- serves as a kindly but stern mentor, who pretty clearly loves young Bod like a father.

And there's a pretty wide supporting cast -- Bod's childhood friend Scarlett is rather bratty, but the ghosts make up for that. The snappy, witty witch Eliza, the kindly Owenses, Mother Slaughter, the fussy Mr. Pennyworth, and the schoolteacherish substitute guardian Miss Lupescu all round out the cast. And with only a few lines, Gaiman makes them seem practically real.

"The Graveyard Book" is a beautifully written, bittersweet coming-of-age tale with some moments of pure creepiness. A magnificent fantasy story, which is not to be missed.
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