The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

I've been trying with VERY little success, (none in fact) to be a part of a bookclub. For various reasons, many being that I have to work, I have YET to attend a meeting. The latest selection is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and I'm happy to report I JUST finished it! Now, if I can just attend the meeting...

It's always interesting to me when I read a children's book or young adult title. I find myself having to reconcile the fact that it's a story meant for young people when I myself no longer fit into that category. A quote at the end of the book helps to put into words this feeling:

" You're always you, and that don't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it" ( page 325)

Neil Gaiman has a vast backlist of books that I have not gotten around to yet. There are a few in my pile, (Sandman, Good Omens, Coraline) and I have no doubt that I'll enjoy them as much as this one. I read Stardust a few years ago and had the same reaction when it was done. I didn't feel immediately in love with the story but found it very satisfying. His books seem to be filled with other worldliness and magic and when your main book of choice tends to have a half-naked couple clutching on the cover, it takes some brain rearranging to appreciate a story that does not focus on romantic love.

The Graveyard Book follows Nobody Owens through his young life starting with the gruesome death of his family, his adoption by a new ghostly family and eventually into his young adulthood when he must finally go out onto his own. One complaint that I had while reading was the lack of sufficient backstory or explanation. I realize that with this being a children's book, Gaiman might not have felt the need to delve so deeply into the why-fors. Having a little more explanation as to why his entire family had to be killed as opposed to just him would've been nice. Finding out more about the Jacks of all Trades was something I was hoping for too. Maybe Gaiman could write an adult title that delves into the society a little more. These were my only real complaints with the tale. I felt there was so much potential that went untapped. It certainly didn't make the story less though. You are equipped with all the important information you need to understand what's going on and why.

My favorite parts of the story were when Bod was with his family in the graveyard. He had such a vast array of people to interact with and teach him. I loved how his schooling consisted of learning how to Fade and Dreamwalk and HE had to be the one to ask to go to real school with books and papers and libraries.

It was sad how at the end it felt as if Bod was going out into the world with no one. He'd in essence lost any and all families he'd ever had. He didn't see it that way though. He learned so much and was ready to just go out and experience life, clean slate and completely on his own terms. Once the story ended I found myself imagining what his world would be like. Where would he go? Who would he meet? Would he see Silas again? Would he eventually be buried in his graveyard and be reunited with his family there? (Seriously Neil Gaiman, write Bod's story as an adult!) In my mind he lived a full, exciting life only enhanced by the way he was brought into the world.