The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

I was walking past rows and rows of books at the Unity bookstall when this tiny illustrated book almost called out to me. Thinking, the lack of sleep was starting to have it's effects, I walked on. But this time the "Tssss. I am here", was loud and clear. For someone who is a book romantic, being accosted by one was a sure sign that The Graveyard Book should make it to my bookshelf.

With a name like 'The Graveyard Book', it would have been tossed aside by most readers as too 'grave' a book, but not so when the author is Neil Gaiman. Give Neil Gaiman a graveyard, a kid called Nobody Owens, the Jack(s)-of-all-trade(s), and right before your very eyes, he has concocted a delicious masterpiece of children's literature fit for consumption by all ages.

The Graveyard Book follows the course of Nobody Owens' life as he lives among the dead in a graveyard in Scotland. Having lost his family to some vicious elements, Nobody, Bod for short is left at the mercy of the dead at the nearby graveyard, who take him into their fold. The story twists and turns with beautiful illustrations in between, and as the reader nears the end, the element of suspense and drama makes one impatient to get to the last page.

The best part about The Graveyard Book is that it is written from a child's perspective, a child with a curiosity so typical of a five year old, one who is not afraid of asking questions, a little kid who does not fully comprehend the world around him and yet, instinctively knows right from wrong. Neil Gaiman's vivid imagination is at play as he describes Bod's fading acts and his rare encounters with the world at large. The character of Silas would tend to be an instant hit with most of the readers. The book has a touch of that dark insidious British humour that makes your stomach churn and yet, funnily enough, at other times, makes you laugh away your fears. Gaiman has made his readers notice the paradigm shift when you live the story through the dead, becoming curiously ironical when your night-to-night affairs are conducted in a graveyard. 

The friendship between Scarlet and Bod has been brought to life in a rather interesting manner although I would have liked for Gaiman to devote more pages to it. The reader is not aware of the setting of the graveyard till he/she is halfway through the book and it would have added to the interest element of the story to give a more detailed description of the graveyard in the beginning. But other than these minor points, The Graveyard Book is the perfect book to indulge in with your ten year old. I think the audio book, with Gaiman's lucid reading of the book, might also be worth giving a shot at.

Book Rating - 4/5

Delightful quotes from the book:

"A graveyard is not normally a democracy and yet death is a great democracy,..."
"You are obvious boy. You are difficult to miss. If you came to me in company with a purple lion, a green elephant, and a scarlet unicorn astride which was the King of England in his Royal Robes, I do believe that it is you and you alone that people would stare at, dismissing the others as minor irrelavancies."
"When glances naturally slip from you, you become very aware of eyes upon you, of glances in your direction, of attention."

If you like this book, you might also like:-

The Book Theif - Marcus Zusak

After that delightful read of The Graveyard Book at Scotland, I want to give my readers a taste for the art and culture of Vienna. Join me on the travails of The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek coming up next.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

This is one of those books where, you know when you have read just a couple of pages that you are going to fall in love with the book. In fact, you are already in love with the book. I fiercely held on to the book for four days and wanted to keep reading it and yet did not want the book to finish. In short, I loved the book.

The author has dealt with a difficult concept - Time travel, yet at it's very core, the book is a love story, albeit a poignant one at that. Henry DeTamble has all the makings of a regular book hero and yet, he is not, at the very core. One minute he is here and the next minute he has left behind a pile of clothes. An average reader can deal with spatial displacement quite easily, however to come to terms with time displacement is a bit harder and the author has taken great pains to ensure this imagery is complete.

The scenes shift from one period to another with Henry scuttling the streets of Chicago as a regular citizen in search of drinks and women and then, a sober middle aged man just longing to be with Claire, who in turn is a budding teenager, against the backdrop of the meadows. The time periods have been clearly annotated making it easier for the reader to wander through Henry's "travel expeditions".

As Claire and Henry come to terms with his unusual condition, which has several handicaps, it does raise the moralist's eyebrow when they decide to use it to their advantage. The other interesting point raised in the book is around destiny. Did events unfold because Henry sees it that way in the future or did they happen in a certain manner and Henry a mere bystander, more of a future reporter? The contradictions and associated dillemma experienced by them is permeated to the reader. Food for thought, eh?

One of the highlights of the book is that the story is told through the view point of both Claire and Henry.All through the book one cannot but marvel at how much Claire and Henry are in love with other. It makes one want to really believe in true love. Claire comes across as a loyal, passionate person and her stray abbherations are but quickly dismissed by the reader. Music permeaded through the book quite a lot and reminded me of some scenes from "An Equal Music - Vikram Seth".

I watched the movie after reading the book, and though the movie has captured the essence of the book, so many of the little details that added to the beauty of the book could not make it to the movie.

Although a tome, I would urge anyone who wants to travel through space and time to reach out for love to add this book to their collection.

Book Rating 4.5/5

If you like this book you would also like -: An Equal Music - Vikram Seth; The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera

Watch out for my next review - The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor