15 March 2012

The Graveyard Book


Sometimes I like to read kids books.  I took a class in college on children’s lit and it’s really far more complex than it seems.  Kids only like to read certain things.  Boys won’t really read a book about a girl, but a girl doesn’t care.  Harriet Potter wouldn’t have worked.   Another reoccurring theme is freedom, freedom from bedtime and parents rules.  This is why kids’ books often feature an absent parent or parents.  The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman was no different.

The main character is Nobody Owens, a child who was orphaned under mysterious circumstances as an infant.  He escaped his parents’ murderer by hiding in the graveyard across the street from his house.  Here he met, and was raised by, the ghosts of those who had long been buried.  Not all of the ghosts are friendly, and Nobody, is still in danger from the man who killed his family.

Gaiman created a wonderful and dark world.  This isn’t a tough read, but it’s a fun one. 

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