As promised, here is a short review of Neil Gaiman’s latest book for children/young adults, with the title “The Graveyard Book“. By the author’s own admission, the book is largely inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book“. The main theme is also the same – a child raised not by humans, but by denizens of another world.
By now, you should have figured out that the child in question, called Bod, is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. How he got there is something I’ll leave to the book to explain. I’m just here to deliver a verdict, folks!
Since I started on more adult Gaiman fare like the Sandman series, and subsequently moving on to “American Gods“, this latest offering feels less epic and less breathtaking than his other stuff. But then this IS aimed at a younger set, and still makes no compromises with the mythological cameos that Mr Gaiman is so fond of. I finished this book in about 4-5 hours, and I frequently interrupted it with my own Wikipedia-ing of the mythological tropes that appear along the course of the book.
And in keeping with most Gaiman stories, the how and why of the entire story is left till the very end, although there are bits and pieces here and there that you can tease out for yourself. This is a good ego-booster, cos it leaves you feeling smart. Kekekeke.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but not as much as I did American Gods or The Sandman. But like I said, this is aimed at a different audience. It delivers on what it promises, and that’s a gripping, entertaining book by the master word-weaver, Neil Gaiman.
