Review of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman

Biography
Gaiman, Neil. (2008) The Graveyard Book. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York, NY: Harper Collins. ISBN 978006053921

Plot Summary
Nobody Owens is a good-natured boy who is being raised in the most unnatural of circumstances. In fact, you may call them the most supernatural of circumstances, for Nobody Owens is growing up in a graveyard and is learning his life lessons from the dead. When Nobody, or Bod, is a baby, his family is brutally murdered. In a miraculous feat, Bod manages to totter into a graveyard where the ghosts adopt him as their own. Ignoring the admonishments of his guardian, Bod faces many dangers, which oddly enough reside beyond the safe boundaries of the graves. The most pressing danger of all is “the man Jack” who killed Bod’s family and has an undying vendetta to make sure Nobody Owens is dead.


Critical Analysis
Neil Gaiman, who is the famed author of Coraline, presents a dark fantasy tale about a young boy who is raised among the dead. Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is the protagonist of the story, and he is accompanied by his two adoptive parents, his guardian, and a plethora of friends and neighbors, all of whom are dead. His only living companion is Scarlett. They meet as young children and later reconnect as teens. Gaiman seems to have a new life lesson for Bod with every character he comes to know, from the Indigo man in the graveyard hill to the witch ghost in the Potter’s Field, no encounter is in vain.

The primary setting is an ancient graveyard tucked away in a modern time. Although the year is not explicitly given, Gaiman does not fail to give us clues: “She (Scarlett) pulled out her LED light and turned it on.” Such a glimpse of modern civilization is rarely revealed within the confines of the graveyard where the atmosphere is frozen in times that have long passed. Yet, whenever Bod steps into the land of the living, the reader may find it surprising that a technologically advanced world is whirling around the peaceful dead.

Gaiman has written this book for young adults and children, and although it begins with a rather gruesome murder scene, the rest of the book enlists tried-and-true favorite themes among youth. There is humor, albeit gloriously dark. In an instance of mild correction, Bod’s guardian says, “You aren’t allowed out of the graveyard—it’s aren’t, by the way, not amn’t, not these days.” There are suggestions of gore: “The knife had done everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.” And there is action and suspense: “He pulled his black silk cord tight between his hands. It had been stretched around many necks, over the years, and had been the end of every one of the people it had embraced.” And oddly enough, there is warmth and kind displays of love, even if these prove to be a paradox to our cold and fearful perceptions of death and cemetaries.

Dave McKean lends to the magically morbid ambience of the story through his haunting illustrations. He sketches black and white images of shadowy spirits, a coldblooded killer, and crumbling tombstones. The beginning of each chapter is accompanied by McKeon’s drawings, and they give that extra ounce of creepiness that will ensure the children will be ducking under their covers.

Review Excerpts
2009 Newbery Award Winner
The Washington Post: “Like a bite of dark Halloween chocolate, this novel proves rich, bittersweet and very satisfying.”
Kirkus Review: “Wistful, witty, wise-and creepy. Gaiman's riff on Kipling's Mowgli stories never falters, from the truly spine-tingling opening, in which a toddler accidentally escapes his family's murderer, to the melancholy, life-affirming ending.”

Connections
*Would be a fun and unique required reading for junior high school students.
*This book has excellent examples of foreshadowing, plot climax, plot twist, hidden meaning, and prediction. Students would have a memorable time dissecting this book.
*Look for other books and audio recordings from Neil Gaiman:
The Graveyard Book on CD. ISBN 9780061551895
Coraline. ISBN 9780380807345