Hi fantasy f(r)iends!
So I've recently returned from Europe, with many exciting tales and pictures to show you guys when I get the time to put them up.
But first off, I want to say that I loved The Graveyard Book! I think others have expressed similar feelings. It was definitely one of the most entertaining and easy reads we've had so far this semester. I really really really want Gaiman to write a prequel of sorts and delve a little deeper into Silas and the Honor Guard, am I right?
In fact, I tweeted this to Neil Gaiman, in a silly hope that I might catch his attention and add to the praise he's no doubt gotten from many other fans. And whattaya know, he tweeted me back! I had seen that he was doing a discussion with a class somewhere, and joked that he should do one with OUR class, and he asked if Andy was still blogging everything. So, I sent him the link to our blog. Careful what you say-- you never know who's lurking in our Graveyard of posts. If you'd like to tweet him your thoughts as well, I linked his account in the post title.
So, what did you all think of the book? (As if you'd say you hated it now that I let you know this, right? but really, be honest, please.)
It actually got pulled into my mind yet again today, as we were discussing a piece of literature in my English class written by Irish poet William B. Yeats. The poem is called "The Stolen Child," and it's all about a young boy who was stolen away by faeries, tempted into going with him and becoming one of them, in a sense. He is still technically human, but gains some of their powers and becomes essentially immortal. But later in the poem, he longs for the human life he never really knew. Pretty familiar sounding, no? Here's a LINK to the poem, if you're interested, as well as a SONG VERSION of it by the Irish group, The Waterboys.
I wonder if Gaiman has read this? Probably. It's pretty famous. Maybe it influenced his idea for Bod and The Graveyard Book? The only major differences are that the boy in the poem is replaced in his home by a faerie pretending to be a boy.
Thoughts? Ideas? Random bits of useless information? I welcome all of it.
6 comments:
We studied Yeats my Senior year of high school and "The Stolen Child" was by far my favorite poem of his. I never made the connection between the poem and the book, but now that you point it out, it really makes sense. I would love to hear where Gaiman got the idea for this book, though all of his books leave me wondering where his imagination stems from. A sequel would be amazing, but I enjoyed the ending. Moreso than this book, I am dying for a sequel to "Neverwhere", though I think he said there won't be one...
I enjoyed the ending too. That's why I said prequel, not sequel. ;) I just want to know Silas' story.
I think that would be amazing if he were to write a prequel about Silas!! What did he tweet back?
And by my asking what, I really just want to hear that he said he was currently writing the final chapter of said book. If this is not the case, a lie will do nicely
Haha, he said it's almost done and will be out by next January!
(and by that I mean he just asked me if Andy was blogging this class, and I said yes and sent him the link, and that was all.)
I would like to jump on the bandwagon and demand (and by demand I mean ask for ever so nicely) a prequel. There is a lot of ground that has been left unturned (HA!). I also agree that a sequel is not the best way to flesh out this universe, and in my opinion, would detract from the original.
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