Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the characters in this book: living; dead and undead. The Jacks are suitably nasty and yet I laughed out loud when I made the connection between the first Jack we meet and his surname. And Bod, the focus of the story, is both completely ordinary and believably extraordinary. Most of the chapters are more or less self contained, with a satisfying beginning, middle and end (perfect for a parent looking for something to read to a child at bedtime) but various threads are picked up and developed into a beautifully woven conclusion.

Ostensibly, it is a children’s book but Gaiman never talk down to his audience. He writes in a manner that assumes you’re smart enough to keep up. And it’s funny. For example, he is unsure whether he should look for his friend so seeks advice from a poet; as Bod says, “... if you couldn’t trust a poet to offer sensible advice, who could you trust?”

Ever since I heard a radio adaptation of Gaiman’s “Neverwhere” I’ve wanted to read something of his. Don’t know why it has taken me so long to get around to it. I don’t intend for it to be too long before I read another.

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