Growing out of the Gothic
Mar. 26th, 2013 12:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtvesselAug 2012
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - Bloomsbury, 2009
* * * *
The last time I reviewed a Neil Gaiman book, I complained that it was yet another variation on the Sandman families of gods idea and hoped that he would write something new. Well, I'm pleased to report that he has. Sort of. Concern for family is still much to the fore (but as this is a children's book, that is to be expected), and the Gothic setting isn't exactly a stretch for him, but it is an enjoyable and engaging tale.
There is a real darkness in the first few pages, in which an entire family is murdered by a man with a knife. Except for one - a toddler who escaped through the open front door and ends up in a graveyard, where the resident ghosts and someone called Silas (who is neither living nor dead) decide to adopt him. They call him Nobody Owens (Bod for short) and the subsequent chapters form stand-alone stories that cover his development at roughly two-year intervals. There is a surprising amount of adventure to be had, with ghouls, witches and werewolves making an appearance. But the real danger is out in the real world, where the man with the knife is waiting...
There's not a lot more to say than that. The characters are straightforward and memorable and the stories deal well with Bod's gradual growing up. But somehow the book didn't really resonate with me. Obviously not being a member of the target market is part of it, but it may also be that I am growing out of the Gothic (I have written before of my repeated disappointment with the films of Tim Burton). The problem with it as a genre is that it's all atmosphere. And once you've set up your graves and your ghosts and your werewolves and your witches and your vampires, what do you do with them? Pretty much every possible metaphor has been explored, every trope utilised. Certainly I don’t think that there's anything startlingly new in what Gaiman is doing here. But still, what he does, he does well.
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - Bloomsbury, 2009
* * * *
The last time I reviewed a Neil Gaiman book, I complained that it was yet another variation on the Sandman families of gods idea and hoped that he would write something new. Well, I'm pleased to report that he has. Sort of. Concern for family is still much to the fore (but as this is a children's book, that is to be expected), and the Gothic setting isn't exactly a stretch for him, but it is an enjoyable and engaging tale.
There is a real darkness in the first few pages, in which an entire family is murdered by a man with a knife. Except for one - a toddler who escaped through the open front door and ends up in a graveyard, where the resident ghosts and someone called Silas (who is neither living nor dead) decide to adopt him. They call him Nobody Owens (Bod for short) and the subsequent chapters form stand-alone stories that cover his development at roughly two-year intervals. There is a surprising amount of adventure to be had, with ghouls, witches and werewolves making an appearance. But the real danger is out in the real world, where the man with the knife is waiting...
There's not a lot more to say than that. The characters are straightforward and memorable and the stories deal well with Bod's gradual growing up. But somehow the book didn't really resonate with me. Obviously not being a member of the target market is part of it, but it may also be that I am growing out of the Gothic (I have written before of my repeated disappointment with the films of Tim Burton). The problem with it as a genre is that it's all atmosphere. And once you've set up your graves and your ghosts and your werewolves and your witches and your vampires, what do you do with them? Pretty much every possible metaphor has been explored, every trope utilised. Certainly I don’t think that there's anything startlingly new in what Gaiman is doing here. But still, what he does, he does well.