Mark Lawrence's Reviews > The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book
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I read this to Celyn but the 5* are from both of us. I think I probably enjoyed it more than she did in fact.
It's a fine book. I can see why it's done so well. The story is well structured, the brutal opening providing an orphan, a mystery, and an ongoing threat. Thereafter the book slowly cycles back around to its beginning and in the mean time raises our young Bod, equipping him with the skills to deal with his problem.
Bod's life in the graveyard is very interesting, with him learning various bits of magic and magical lore from the dead. With hundreds of ghosts spanning several thousand years there's all manner of opportunity for interest and I enjoyed Bod's interactions with them.
We watch Bod grow up, be educated, and make ventures into the living world. The whole thing crept up on me. I was gently entertained throughout but by the end I found myself really caring about the story.
The end was really quite emotional in that Toy Story III sort of 'leaving the nest' way that punches parents in the gut. I think Celyn got a bit irritated as I kept pausing to gather myself to read the next line.
Anyway. A curious and highly entertaining book thick with inventiveness and written with deceptive skill.
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It's a fine book. I can see why it's done so well. The story is well structured, the brutal opening providing an orphan, a mystery, and an ongoing threat. Thereafter the book slowly cycles back around to its beginning and in the mean time raises our young Bod, equipping him with the skills to deal with his problem.
Bod's life in the graveyard is very interesting, with him learning various bits of magic and magical lore from the dead. With hundreds of ghosts spanning several thousand years there's all manner of opportunity for interest and I enjoyed Bod's interactions with them.
We watch Bod grow up, be educated, and make ventures into the living world. The whole thing crept up on me. I was gently entertained throughout but by the end I found myself really caring about the story.
The end was really quite emotional in that Toy Story III sort of 'leaving the nest' way that punches parents in the gut. I think Celyn got a bit irritated as I kept pausing to gather myself to read the next line.
Anyway. A curious and highly entertaining book thick with inventiveness and written with deceptive skill.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
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Reading Progress
December 31, 2015
–
Started Reading
December 31, 2015
– Shelved
January, 2016
–
Finished Reading
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May 19, 2016 06:03PM
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The audiobook is so good! Gaiman is one of those rare authors who can narrate his own work as well as any professional narrator can. I remember being pretty young and facing my first day in a new job where I was expected to be alone for the entire day in a cold basement fixing a piece of equipment I barely understood. Listened to the entire audiobook that day (had already read it in book form a couple years prior) and it turned something stressful into one of my favorite memories.
I believe that The Graveyard Book goes along well with Gothic Fiction. Based off of well known Gothic Fiction poems, such as “The Raven”, By Edgar Allen Poe, and, “It Matters Not”, by Andrea Dietrich, most Gothic Fiction books are supposed to wear you down. They tear at your soul and make you feel alone and weary by showing you disappointing things in the human society, no matter what timeline it is based in. It almost makes you cry. But some others are not as bad and they only convey the feeling of sadness. The Graveyard Book is in between. The young boy Bod, makes you feel connected to the book and will give you a sense of happiness, to know that their is a kind boy in the Novela. But then you will feel angry and sad, because you see how his future is turning out, despite his best efforts to make it amazing and special. In the first part of the book, Bod shows a kid how to stand up for himself. The boy is bullied, but then finds his voice, and sticks up for himself and other kids around him. But in the Second half, Bod shows a darker side. He kills men to save himself and his friend, even though there would have been another way. He could have ran away, found another home, but he didn't, which is why it makes this a good Gothic Fiction book.
I do believe that this is a good example of Gothic Fiction. Gothic Fiction is all about making choices that are darker and full of more evil, even if their would be another choice for the main character to make that's not as bad. Also, I would recommend this book to people who love horror movies or mystery/horror books, because of the ways the story twists and turns. If you want a great book to eat up your time and to give you the sense of satisfaction, then read The Graveyard Book. It is a great Novel, that everyone should read. I loved it, and if I could I would read it over again.