of graveyards
Oct. 23rd, 2021 09:40 amNeil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
After his family are killed by a mysterious stranger named Jack, a young boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts. Episodic supernatural-inflected hijinks ensue.
First reread. I remembered liking this quite a bit when it first came out, and then for whatever reason never picking it back up again.
It's quite good. I strongly prefer it to Coraline, which for whatever reason left me cold. (It's been at least as long since I read Coraline, so I no longer remember why I wasn't so impressed.)
It's got wonderfully vivid characters. Silas stands with Gregory von Bayern and Agyar János as one of my favourite fictional vampires, and the various ghosts are fun to be around. And Bod himself, Nobody Owens, grows and changes and is generally a fine exemplar of a boy of whatever age in each chapter.
Honestly what I'd really like is an eight-episode limited series, animated, with a bit more (not much, just a bit) about the Jacks of All Trades, and probably the Lady in Grey turning up at the climax. And with James Earl Jones to do the voice of Silas.
After his family are killed by a mysterious stranger named Jack, a young boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts. Episodic supernatural-inflected hijinks ensue.
First reread. I remembered liking this quite a bit when it first came out, and then for whatever reason never picking it back up again.
It's quite good. I strongly prefer it to Coraline, which for whatever reason left me cold. (It's been at least as long since I read Coraline, so I no longer remember why I wasn't so impressed.)
It's got wonderfully vivid characters. Silas stands with Gregory von Bayern and Agyar János as one of my favourite fictional vampires, and the various ghosts are fun to be around. And Bod himself, Nobody Owens, grows and changes and is generally a fine exemplar of a boy of whatever age in each chapter.
Honestly what I'd really like is an eight-episode limited series, animated, with a bit more (not much, just a bit) about the Jacks of All Trades, and probably the Lady in Grey turning up at the climax. And with James Earl Jones to do the voice of Silas.