Gaiman, Neil. The
Graveyard Book. Ill. Dave McKean. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-06-053092-1. 2.
PLOT SUMMARY
Nobody Owens escapes the brutal
hands of death into the loving arms of the dead in Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. A sinister plot by a
secret society of Jacks sets out to find and kill the prophesied human who
could end their evil society. They have waited centuries for the birth of the
child, and the day has come for them to achieve their objective. The young toddler,
though, manages to escape his home while his family is brutally murdered by one
of the Jacks and finds sanctuary and a home in a nearby graveyard among ghosts who
agree to take him in and protect him. He becomes the adopted son of the Owens,
a ghost couple who longed for a child when they were alive over two hundred
years ago. With the guidance of his mysterious guardian, Silas, Nobody Owens grows
up among the graves and their ghosts.
During his childhood years, he encounters inhuman beings from other
realms and humans from outside the graveyard who may bring about his eventual
destruction or help him to survive the
inevitable encounter with those who want him dead.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book creates a world of
life and love in the resting place of the dead when he places his character
Nobody Owens in the shelter and protection of ghosts who dwell in an old
graveyard turned into a nature reserve. Nobody,
stalked by an evil society of Jacks who want him dead, innocently wanders from
his home into an ancient graveyard, unaware that his parents and sister have just
been brutally murdered by one of the Jacks. His presence in the graveyard
startle ghosts who dwell among and within the ancient gravestones and crypts. The
helpless child, though, warms the heart of Mistress Owens, who over two hundred
years ago died a childless woman. When she realizes his life is in danger, she
convinces Master Owens that he must stay in the graveyard. Mr. Owens agrees under the condition that
Silas, who sleeps in the graveyard during the day and wanders among the living
at night, will be his guardian and provide for the child's living needs, while
they provide protection from his would-be killer.
Thus begins the strange life of
Nobody Owens, called Bod for short, who is caught in the struggle between good
and evil while the spirits protect him from the Jacks. Doting Mistress Owens
provides Bod with a mother's love, while sympathetic Silas, who is neither dead
nor living, cautiously looks after Bod to ensure he will be protected from the
outside threat. A delightful character
is the bitter but good-hearted ghost of a young girl, Liza Hempstock, who was
killed hundreds of years earlier for being a witch. Liza befriends Bod who is
the first human she has ever met, in life and in death, who showed her
compassion. These ghosts and others tend to Bod's living needs, both
emotionally and intellectually. However, his experiences with strange beings
are not limited to ghosts: Terrible ghouls who live in another world, a living
girl who befriends him when he is a child, and a strange creature who waits for
his master's return all play a role in Bod's growth and final struggle against
the Jacks so that he may return to the world in which he belongs, the world of
the living.
Intertwined among the pages of
Gaiman's novel, the shadowy and haunting illustrations of Dave McKean draw the
reader further into the eerie mood of the story. Cast in tones of grays and
blacks, the pictures portray the personalities of the ghosts, ghouls, and
humans. The sinister Jack carries a deadly knife as he climbs the staircase to
murder the sleeping family; Terrifying ghouls linger over the horrible grave
that is a portal to their horrifying realm; Bod, with inquisitive expressions
and gestures, engages in deep conversations with foster family members. Together,
the illustrations and the descriptive narrative create a fantastic story that
explores good and evil in the worlds of the living, the dead, and the mythical.
As the book draws to its end, Gaiman
seems to leave openings for another story featuring Bod as its central
character. While the story, as all good stories, can end where it does and
leave the wonderings of what happens next
to the reader's imagination, the reader still can hope that Gaiman just might have a sequel up his sleeve. Whether he does or does not write a sequel will
not affect the strength of The Graveyard
Book's message: Love and compassion exists everywhere, even in places and beings that
may, at first, seem a little scary.
AWARDS AND REVIEWS
Awards:
ALA Notable
Children Books 2009
Andrew
Carnegie Medal 2010
Boston
Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature, 2009
Cybil Award,
2008
Elizabeth
Burr/Worzalla Award 2009, Winner
Garden State
Teen Book Award, 2011 Winner
Indies
Choice Book Award, 2009, Winner
John Newbery
Medal 2009 - Winner
Kentucky
Bluegrass Award, 2010 -Winner
Locus Award,
2009 - Winner
Los Angeles
Times Book Prize, 2008 -Finalist
Mythopoeic
Fantasy Award for Children's Literature, 2009 Finalist
Reviews
"Wistful,
witty, wise ----and creepy." (Kirkus
Reviews, August 15, 2008)
"YAs
will race through this fine tale and enjoy every magical, creepy moment." Paul
Rohrlick, KLIATT Review, September
2008
"Gaimen
writes with charm and humor, and again he has a real winner." Rayna
Patton, VOYA, August 2008
CONNECTIONS
Fantasy fiction Recommended 6-8 grades
Related
Books
Coraline,
Neil Gamen
Stardust,
Neil Gamen
Enrichment
Activities
Watch
and listen to Neil Gaimen as he reads The
Graveyard Book! This clip features Mr. Gaimen reading the entire book to
his audiences. It is truly a unique opportunity, so don't miss it!
Visit
the Neil Gamen website for young readers and discover more of his incredibly
imaginative books to read!
The
following site is one you have to visit! It is an interactive book-trailer.
Absolutely fantastic!
Lesson
Plan Activities:
I
highly recommend the following site for a variety of strategies to use in the
classroom:
PERSONAL RESPONSE
When I first began reading The Graveyard Book, I was surprised at
the violence of the opening scene and found myself wondering if this was a suitable
novel for a young reader. After
finishing the book, though, I realized that the opening had to be the way it
was so that the readers could understand the ruthlessness of the Jacks. They
are horrible! This was a book that I found difficult to put down as I couldn't
wait to see what happened next to young Bod. I would definitely recommend it to
young adult readers who like fantasy fiction that is slightly on the macabre
side.
The Graveyard Book. cover
illustration. Internet on-line. Accessed
November 20, 2012 from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/neil-gaiman/the-graveyard-book/
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