LS 5603 The Graveyard Book

Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper Children’s Audio, 2008.

ISBN: 9780061551895

A toddler toddles off into the night after the “man Jack” kills his parent and older sister. He wanders into a graveyard and is taken in by its ghostly residents. They decide to call him “Nobody” because he “looks like nobody but himself,” according to his adoptive mother, Mrs. Owens. Mr. Owens agress and Silas, the mysterious guardian/caretaker of the graveyard, agrees to be Bod’s guardian, to and fetch his food and other essentials, since his ghostly parents can’t leave their burial site. Bod grows up in the graveyard and is given the Freedom of the Graveyard; he can learn to fade and enter people’s dreams like the dead. As he grows and learns from his ghostly parents and friends, the man Jack (also known as Mr. Frost) and a consortium of Jacks are conspiring to find and kill Bod. Bod also becomes curious about the world outside the graveyard and his curiosity leads to a few mishaps that almost land him in the hands of his enemies. After Bod is tricked into coming to the man Jack, he leads “his” Jack and trip of others to his grwvetard and defeats them in his own territory. After the Jacks are gone, Silas tells Bod he needs to experience the world and Bod concurs. “I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands,” Bod says. Silas gives him what he needs to be out in the world: identification, money, clothing and Bod leaves the graveyard after one last good-bye talk with his parents. After one last glance back, he leaves and goes to see the world.

The Graveyard Book read by the author is an entrancing listen. Filled with many surprises and fantastic creatures, it is a book that works very well as an audiobook. Gaiman know his story well and smoothly transitions from voice to voice, making each character distinct. Hearing the ending of the book, all of it, really, was much more affecting for me than reading it. Though reading a book may get me to the end faster, some nuances can be missed by a read-through. You could hear the coldness in the man Jacks voice. You could hear the emotion in Gaiman’s voice when Bod and his parents and guardian say good-bye to each other. I’ll admit I shed a tear or two! The only complaint I have is the music that is played at the beginning and end of every CD. It was a bit jarring and I felt it took away from the fanciful-gloomy mood of the story.

The School Library Journal (March 2009 issue) states: “What a wicked delight to hear this inventive, sinister story read by multi-talented author Neil Gaiman. His voice ranges from silky to gravelly and gruff to sharp-edged.” Those who enjoyed listening to this audiobook may also enjoy these audiobooks: The Boggart by Susan Cooper, 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson and its sequel Dandelion Fire, or Coraline, written and read by Neil Gaiman. They may also enjoy reading the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy by Terry Prachett.