I picked up Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book in December 2008 and the story has stuck with me since then. I first came across Neil Gaiman from his earlier work “Stardust” and am now in the process of collecting his other books. I’m currently reading a collection of his short stories in a book entitled Fragile Things.
Anyway, back to The Graveyard Book. What’s beautiful about this story for me is the premise. It talks about acceptance. Accepting one whom you would not normally accept in normal circumstances. In this case a baby being accepted by the folks (ghosts) in a graveyard and being raise by them. The baby grows up and is taught the ways of the grave and in the lessons taught we see takes on real life in the mortal world. Issues like finding yourself, friendship and growing up.
It’s by far an interesting read and at times funny. There were instances, I sat back laughing at the imagery Neil Gaiman uses. What it does is, to give us this idea that a graveyard can be a thriving nation on its own, with its own set of rules and government. And within this nation are adventures that our human (Bod) encounters and ultimately leads to the discovery of his real identity.
Now, I understand Neil Gaiman’s style of writing may not appeal to some, this was evident when a friend of mine “tried” to read Fragile Things; but give it a shot.
