The Graveyard Book

I honestly didn't realize how sucked into this one I was until it was over, and I was all twisted about by the ending.

Escaping the brutal murder of his family by a strange twist of fate, a toddler ends up in a graveyard where the residents decide to raise him as one of their own. And that's how Nobody Owens, Bod to his friends, grows up learning not only his reading, writing and 'rithmetic, but also all the powers of a ghost. But when Bod leaves the graveyard to entire the world of the living proper and attend school, he bites off more than he can chew. Because it rapidly becomes clear that the man who killed his family is waiting to finish the job.

I entered this expecting a fun read, and I wasn't disappointed on that front. What I wasn't expecting was such a pleasant change of style from Neil Gaiman's fairy tale-esque novels. Gaiman completely eschews his fairy tale atmosphere for a story a lot less whimsical, but every bit as charming as his other stuff.

Bod, as most of Gaiman's protagonists tend to be, seems to be childhood personified; innocent, adventurous, where every part of the world is a place full of wonder and magic. How the book wraps up, as Bod grows older, underlines this feeling. For a kid with such a morbid, Tim Burton-esque background, he proved not only engaging but a very compelling character to read about.

I think the layout of this book is perfect for kids, with each chapter being a practically self contained adventure that explores some new part of the world, be it within the graveyard, or without, such as the Potter's Field next door where the criminals, suicides and even a witch is laid to rest. To an adult mind and especially coming off a wonderfully put together plotline like he did in Stardust, this can feel simplistic at times, but for the purposes of this book it works, and I still found myself enjoying it at times.

But definitely the element that carries the most weight of the book is Gaiman's writing. Gaiman harnesses the darkness and injects his book with ample loads of it, but unlike another children's author I can think of he doesn't ruin it by trying to keep the story light and fun at the same time. Instead, his darkness functions much as the magic does in his fairy tales; it's mysterious, wonderous, and entirely inexplicable. We may see it, and we may interact with it, but we can never be part of it or understand it. Not until we take a ride on the Grey Lady's horse, at least.

All in all, yet another utterly enjoyable escapade from Neil Gaiman. The very essence of his style given a dark twist and targeted to a younger generation, every bit as wondrous and fantastical as anything he's ever written, it's yet another heartwarming and engaging tale from Neil Gaiman you don't want to miss. Especially if you're a fan.