THE
GRAVEYARD BOOK: Neil Gaiman’s best book so far
After
his family has been killed by a man named Jack, Nobody Owens is forced to live
in hiding in a graveyard. There are a lot of adventures in a graveyard for a
boy -- the Indigo Man, the gateway to the city of ghouls, among many. But
little does he know that the man Jack is still on the hunt for him, and the man
is not alone...
The
first thing that captured my attention is the illustrations, which were done by
Dave McKean, a name that is very familiar to Sandman readers. For obvious
reasons, illustrations make books, particularly children books, more
entertaining to the eyes. But Dave McKean’s illustrations are not
childish-looking at all. They have a unique style that makes them look dark and
mature, but not enough to make it unsuitable for children. The style is rather
funky.
The
writing style is another department that really caught me. The prose is the smoothest
I’ve seen in Neil Gaiman’s works. I also enjoy the omniscient yet limited
perspective (We’ll get to that later). The Graveyard Book feels almost entirely
different from the author’s other works. The writing stands out.
Another
thing that makes it different is how the chapters are divided. The book is
about 300 pages long, but there are only 8 chapters. This means that the
chapters could be rather long for those who have shorter attention spans. The
reason why this book has been divided this way is that the book feels like a
collection of story arcs. Each chapter is a story of its own, but somehow,
there is still an overall story that binds all of them together.
This
overall story, I must admit, has been executed ridiculously well. That is
thanks to the omniscient perspective that is not so. The storytelling is in
third person, but it doesn’t follow a singular character. It jumps from one
character to the next, giving the readers the best perspective of the current
situation. This jumping has been used to present and conceal certain plot
elements, which is actually an effective tool to keep the readers entertained
and intrigued.
In
truth, there are actually a lot of plot points that are not fully expanded,
like the organization that wanted Nobody Owens dead. What are the Honour
Guards, exactly? Who is the Sleer? There are so many things that need
exploration. But the fact that they are mysterious actually contribute to why
they have been effective elements of the book. It gives the readers room for
imagining things. Besides, Neil Gaiman has told the story he wants to tell. He
just leaves us to fill in the details of the ghostly world he has created.
Speaking
of this ghostly world, I admit that its ghostly inhabitants are really
well-crafted. From the souls in the graveyard, to the mystical beings like the
ghouls and the hounds of God -- all of them have distinct characteristics that
make them unique and entertaining.
Overall,
I think The Graveyard Book is Neil Gaiman’s best book yet. It is infinitely
inventive with its haunting story, which is of course told masterfully, and
characters, which are actually well-moulded and not just paper cut-outs. But like
any book, the most important part of The Graveyard Book is its underlying
messages, and what I like about the book’s underlying messages is that they fit
the overall theme very well -- Life, Death, and everything in between.
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Glad you loved it so much!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I LOVED it. Outside of the Sandman series, this is Neil Gaiman's most well-written story, in my opinion. I'll be looking for A Monster Calls soon, and other titles recommended by others.
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