The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

Hardcover - UK - 1st edition.

Author Neil Gaiman Published 2008-09-30 Type Fiction Genre Horror Themes Adventure, Childhood, Horror, Urban fantasy Age Group Teen

The Graveyard Book is an urban fantasy novel with horror themes written by Neil Gaiman and published on 2008-09-30. Gaiman says he thought of the premise of the book while watching his son contently playing in a graveyard, oblivious to the fear many have of them, which made Gaiman think of parallels to The Jungle Book. However, he didn't think he was a good enough writer at the time and sat on the idea for over 20 years before finally deciding to write the book. The book was adapted into a graphic novel and is currently being made into a film.

In the story, a toddler's family is murdered, but the child inadvertently stumbles into a graveyard before the murderer can kill him too. At the behest of the murdered mother's spirit, the ghosts of the graveyard protect the child. The boy grows up in the graveyard with ghostly parents and undead friends, but the murderer is still trying to find the boy in order to finish the job.

Personal

Own?	No.
Read?	Audiobook read by Neil Gaiman.
Finished	2022-05-17.

Having enjoyed everything I've read from Neil Gaiman prior, I wanted to read more of his work. I didn't know anything about this book other than it had some relation to Gaiman's earlier short story, "October in the Chair" published in Fragile Things. But, since I really liked that story, I assumed I would enjoy this one too, and I did.

Review

Overall:

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• Gaiman does a good job making being raised by ghosts in a graveyard sound enjoyable. Being able to learn from a variety of people from centuries past sounds very interesting as does having ghostly the super powers.
• The Man Jack is a fearsome villain, and I like the idea behind his name and order.
• Silas is a very enjoyable character and guardian to Bod, and I like at the end we learn why he's not as evil as others like him.
• The segment with the ghouls was quite enjoyable.
• When Jack finally finds Bod, it's a wonderfully intense moment.
• I like that Bod doesn't live happily ever after with Scarlett.

Bad

• The book was written in stand-alone segments, and this structure ultimately hurts the story. Rather than work as a single story, it's broken up, which causes the cadence of the book to rise and fall more than normal for a book of this length. Also, characters that are important in one section aren't even mentioned in the others. For example, Mo and Nick are bullies who, the moment they're dealt with, never appear again. Likewise with Abanazer Bolger. Similarly, when Bod is taught how to call for help in the language of the night gaunts it has to be dealt with only a few pages later, which makes it feel contrived.
• It doesn't feel like Bod grows through the phases of a child. The only growth I see with him is the desire to see more of the world. He never develops romantic feelings and he becomes only very slightly rebellious. I didn't notice any other changes commonly associated with getting older.
• The final showdown between Bod and Jack is a bit drawn out and underwhelming. Also, the book tries a little too hard to make sure Bod doesn't actually kill anyone, even those who are actively trying to kill him.
• Since the prophecy was a little boy was going to grow up to cause the downfall of the Jacks, then why didn't Jack kill him first? Also, I was a bit annoyed that it's never revealed exactly how the Jacks found out it would be Bod's family. I get that it no longer matters to Bod, but it matters to me.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

• 

  Hardcover - UK - First edition - HarperCollins.

• 

  Paperback - USA - HarperCollins.

• 

  Paperback - Europe - Bloomsbury.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	Miss Lupescu and Liza Hempstock both share their unique wisdom with Bod.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There are several women, but none really talk to each other.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	As far as I can tell, everyone in the book is white.
Queer character?	Fail	None of the characters appear to be queer.

Quotes

• "Things blossom in their time. They bud and bloom, blossom and fade. Everything in its time."
• "Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say that they're scared for the fear to become real. Mo was terrified, and now Nick was too."
• "'Can I ride him?' asked Bod. 'One day,' she told him, and her cobweb skirts shimmered. 'One day. Everybody does.' 'Promise?' 'I promise.'"
• "It is neither fair nor unfair, Nobody Owens. It simply is."
• "Truly, life is wasted on the living, Nobody Owens. For one of us is too foolish to live, and it is not I."
• "Silas said, 'Out there, the man who killed your family is, I believe, still looking for you, still intends to kill you.' Bod shrugged. 'So?' he said. 'It's only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead.'"
• "It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you."
• "There were people you could hug, and then there was Silas."
• "Really, he thought, if you couldn't trust a poet to offer sensible advice, who could you trust?"
• "You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it."

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