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A review by thelizabeth
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
5.0
I got a signed copy of this for office secret Santa! Neil drew a tombstone with my name on it thanks Neeeeeil.
SO, this is not, like, a perfect book? But I loved reading it so much I'm like aaagh five stars! It was exciting and loving, and I wish I knew more kids circa 10 years old I could give it to. I completely recommend it to any kid at all who is into something with a slight fantasy edge, and is okay with the general concept of all people eventually being dead people. (So like... maybe some 8 year olds but not every 8 year old?)
I worried this book would be overwhelming with its... how do I say... Gaimanness. Which... sometimes... in the past, I haven't... liked. It's funny, because it feels like I am going to be kicked off the internet for saying this? But then I look at his reviews from a lot of my friends and I think we many of us feel that way. So that's okay. I like him a ton as a figure, I just don't have the votes in on the author. There's some "important" Gaiman I haven't read, but the ones I have failed to win me. So, maybe I just like his children's books better? This might be real. I have similarly wondered if I'm ever gonna like another Terry Pratchett book as much as I like his YA Tiffany Achings. (P.S. Does this mean I will love or hate Good Omens, help.)
Anyway, this book, I think holds this really beautiful balance. The chapters are long, and function rather like vignettes that serve you one particular in-depth slice of the situation. The same dangers and problems exist for Bod in each chapter, and coalesce at the end, but they somehow feel unique and fully-formed. (I disliked the school one. That felt way off? I'm not sure. But it was an exception.) The fantasy and fairy tale elements just worked. Another author would have made me feel I needed to question the premise at every turn, but this provided just the right amount of the right type of detail that I knew I could just leave it in his hands and enjoy. The magic and the situation seemed to succeed by virtue of their simplicity. The less explained they were, the more they reaped.
The characters are good, and their relationships are great. They are all really unique, I felt, and made me root for them in ways I wasn't expecting. The level of thoughtfulness and imagination is so good with all the people. My favorite thing was the range of time that the graveyard's ghosts came from, like that Bod knows how to politely greet people via the customs of a thousand different years. It felt weirdly authentic that he grew up with a neighbor who was there in 1066. You know?
And Silas. And Liza. And Ms. Lupescu. And everything.
I'm so happy. I hope everybody gives this one a try.
SO, this is not, like, a perfect book? But I loved reading it so much I'm like aaagh five stars! It was exciting and loving, and I wish I knew more kids circa 10 years old I could give it to. I completely recommend it to any kid at all who is into something with a slight fantasy edge, and is okay with the general concept of all people eventually being dead people. (So like... maybe some 8 year olds but not every 8 year old?)
I worried this book would be overwhelming with its... how do I say... Gaimanness. Which... sometimes... in the past, I haven't... liked. It's funny, because it feels like I am going to be kicked off the internet for saying this? But then I look at his reviews from a lot of my friends and I think we many of us feel that way. So that's okay. I like him a ton as a figure, I just don't have the votes in on the author. There's some "important" Gaiman I haven't read, but the ones I have failed to win me. So, maybe I just like his children's books better? This might be real. I have similarly wondered if I'm ever gonna like another Terry Pratchett book as much as I like his YA Tiffany Achings. (P.S. Does this mean I will love or hate Good Omens, help.)
Anyway, this book, I think holds this really beautiful balance. The chapters are long, and function rather like vignettes that serve you one particular in-depth slice of the situation. The same dangers and problems exist for Bod in each chapter, and coalesce at the end, but they somehow feel unique and fully-formed. (I disliked the school one. That felt way off? I'm not sure. But it was an exception.) The fantasy and fairy tale elements just worked. Another author would have made me feel I needed to question the premise at every turn, but this provided just the right amount of the right type of detail that I knew I could just leave it in his hands and enjoy. The magic and the situation seemed to succeed by virtue of their simplicity. The less explained they were, the more they reaped.
The characters are good, and their relationships are great. They are all really unique, I felt, and made me root for them in ways I wasn't expecting. The level of thoughtfulness and imagination is so good with all the people. My favorite thing was the range of time that the graveyard's ghosts came from, like that Bod knows how to politely greet people via the customs of a thousand different years. It felt weirdly authentic that he grew up with a neighbor who was there in 1066. You know?
And Silas. And Liza. And Ms. Lupescu. And everything.
I'm so happy. I hope everybody gives this one a try.