Customer Reviews
More of a four and a half really - By: Mrs. S. R. Wray, 02 Jan 2009 
I love Neil Gaiman, & my eleven year old son loved Coraline, so I bought this book to read to him at bedtimes. He didn't like it & asked me to start a different book instead when we were only a couple of chapters in. (We went on to the third bookin the Philip Reeve Mortal Engines series, which we're both enjoying). I kept reading The Graveyard book on my own though, & I enjoyed it very much. I liked the mythical lyrical quality of the writing, as well as the believable characters & humour - & the suspense involving The Man Jack. It wouldn't be my favourite Neil Gaimen but it was still brilliant.
One of his best - By: Matthew Brown-Bolton, 01 Jan 2009 I found this book enjoyable, & wonderfully colourful. The vast supporting cast of the dead & undead, from Silas, Bod's vampiric mentor, the deceased jack & vera duckworth-esque owens' to the rather less pleasant but humourously named ghouls (the 33rd President of the united States, the famous writer Victor Hugo) are offset against the true menace of our young protagonists situation.
From the outset the `Jacks' have pursued this unknowing innocent, & his graveyard utopia is increasingly interrupted by his need to interact with the outside world, which more & more exposes him to them.
The folklore & rules of the dead are incredible, but believable, much like the worlds Gaiman sets upin American Gods & Neverwhere, & you are drawn into them comfortably. My only criticism was the ambiguity of the ending, why was he being pursued by the Men Jack? would have made the conclusion stronger.
I advise anyone to buy & read this book.
A good, light hearted, escapism book. - By: B. Popham, 27 Dec 2008 I've just finished reading this & I thoroughly enjoyed it. Like I saidin the title it was easy to read, funnyin places & a good, light-hearted, escapism book. I would recommend it to anyone.
The lack of a 5th star only comes from the fact that I wish Neil would have gone into a bit for detail about the characters Silas & Miss Lupescu. I found myself left wanting for a bit more involvement from these two characters. I also got a tad frustrated by the haziness of what went on between them & the Jacks.
Other than that, I loved it & would defiantly read it again! I would also recommend listening to the audio-book. Neil himself narrates it & he does it extremely well; very atmospheric, broody & extremely enjoyable.
I hope you find this helpful (it's my 1st book review...)
This could well be a future Classic! - By: Robert Burdock, 03 Dec 2008 In a nutshell: A fine read primarily aimed at the junior reader, but with enough maturity to be able to be enjoyed by all. The Graveyard Book has the potential to be a future classicin the same vein as the one that inspired it, The Jungle Book (and other greats such as Alicein Wonderland, The Wizardin Oz & The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe etc.), & for that reason alone I consider this novel unmissable.
------------
In his acknowledgments Gaiman credits more than a passing nod for this novel to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, a childhood favourite of his, & while the chief protagonist of the novel Bod, can certainly fit into Mowgli's loin cloth, I didn't really feel that there was much of a relationship between the two, other than a child growing upin a unique environment. Then again I read Jungle Book with child eyes many years ago, & this I read as a mature adult, so my perspective is somewhat different. More delightful for me perhaps (mainly because of the romantic notion it throws up), is the author's revelation that the inspiration for The Graveyard Book came after watching his two year old son pedaling his tricycle between the gravestones of a church one summer.
So from the outset I think I've established that The Graveyard Book is a title primarily aimed at the more junior reader, & fundamentally it is. That said the narrative is certainly more than mature enough to be read by all ages & I certainly didn't feel at any point that I was reading a book that was too young for me. In fact the publishers have seen fit to release this titlein both a child's & adult's version so it's accessible for all. Being frugal I actually bought the child's version (it was available at a discounted price :o)), & I'm glad I did because it's got some really nice illustrations throughout from accomplished artist Chris Riddell.
On to the story itself & The Graveyard Book is hugely fantastical (what story about a baby being adopted by ghosts wouldn't be?), but that's The Graveyard Book's quality - pure unadulterated escapism. The story is well-paced, tight & easily read & with this novel at least (because it's the only one I've read) Neil Gaiman shows himself as a great storyteller. If he were aroundin times of lore then he would undoubtedly be the one wandering the medieval countryside with his lute, entertaining the townsfolk with his tales of wonderment :o). Gaiman's put a lot of cleverness into this story with some neat plot twists that ensure the pages keep turning.
Aside from the plot twists I loved following Bod's interactions with the ghosts of the graveyard, & his attempts to adopt the ghostly attributes which would prove useful to himin his unique position. Undoubtedly however, the main success of the storyline comes from Bod's growing angst at being kept from the world outside the graveyard. It's a problem that increases as Bod grows older & its fundamentally an exploration of growing up, but it's growing upin a wholly unique environment, & that's what makes the story so compelling.
As anyone who has read any of my former book reviews would know, my biggest passion is for good characterisation. I'm not so bothered about story or plot (although they help of course) but good characters mean everything to me; so much so that this aspect on its own can often make the difference between a novel being good or bad for me. Well, I'm happy to proclaim that Gaiman has created a really well-rounded charismatic characterin the chief protagonist Bod, & if he were looking to create an equal to rival Kipling's Mowgli then I think he's succeeded, admirably. Silas, Bod's vampiric guardian, is another well realised characterin this novel. He's a character that comes across with a great deal of enigmatic depth, & the phrase `still waters run deep' comes to mind when I think of him. I also think that this is the first time ever that I've been so endeared to a character who is traditionally considered to be an icon of horror.
Sadly however that's where the good characterisation diminishes somewhat for me, & with the possible exception of `the man Jack', all of the other characters come across as being somewhat flat & mere `players'in the story. Don't get me wrong, the portrayal of the other characters is certainly adequate, more than enough to ensure the novel keeps its gleam, but given the richness of character that could have been realised with such an imaginative cast of ghostly figures, I would have liked to have seen some of the other characters being better developed, at least up to the same standard as Silas.
In closing then the main question remaining is whether this is a novel that I recommend reading? Well if you're a junior then absolutely. It's a fantastic novel with a flowing, interesting storyline that juniors are certain to love. I promise! :o)
What about the more mature reader? Well as I've said above it's marketed towards all ages & the story has enough maturity to make it a novel for all ages. It's certainly a light read so if your expecting something as deep & engaging as a Tolstoy or Murakami then you're going to be disappointed. However, if it's a light read you're after then I can think of no better. It entertained me completely & as a reader who normally gets his kicks from the more dense prose of writers such as Steinbeck, Doestovsky & Hamsun etc. that's a big achievement. Bearing thatin mind I'm confident that The Graveyard Book will entertain just about anyone. Go buy it!
not up to his usual standard... - By: Crm Hamelinck, 16 Nov 2008 
I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, but when i did... i wasn't satisfied.
This book isn't bad at all, & if you are a neil-fan, by all means read it. But, this book just wasn't as inventive, as surprising, touching or original.
the concept is great... the excecution.. not that great. There is nothing new, & i felt that i'd seen all the tricks before.
(Strangely, the book read as a script. i could just see the film sequencesin my head.)
Also having read M is for Magic, i was already familiar with a great deal of the story. i almost skipped that part, but forced myself to read it again.
I sometimes thought: this is a real children's book, don't be so critical, but then characters such as victor hugo & the 66th president of U.S.A. are introduced, & i can't imagine kids being that familiar with french literature... It felt like Neil was sending me straight to wikipedia, to read up on some elemental history.
and the end... well... i suppose it was poignant, but i was not satisfied.
i remember being shattered coming to the end of neverwhere, wanting it to go on forever... i hardly dare pick up coraline again, because it disturbed & frightened me so.
The Graveyard book left me... unimpressed.
