My dear classmates--I am currently on a grad school visit to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and will not be in class tomorrow (because I will still be here). And so I thought I would share my thoughts on The Graveyard Book...
As Children's Lit
This was probably the most interesting aspect to me. I'm in a children's literature class right now, and of course we study a lot of works that push the limits. (E.g. Dr. Seuss: A central idea in his works is pushing the limits and wanting people to question the ways of society etc.) I felt that The Graveyard Book had a very children's-lit vibe to it, what with the large print and the flowy illustrations. Of course I know that illustrations does not automatically mean children's lit--I do read manga, after all--but the tone that Gaiman takes and, I suppose, just the way Bod goes about doing things felt like it was designed for a younger audience.
And yet it pushes the limits in interesting ways in that it is a story that is very much about death. We wouldn't think, right off the bat, that death is a very common thing to discuss with young kids--though nursery rhymes used to be very dark, the darkest ones don't tend to be used anymore, and there's a certain kind of expectation in mainstream children's lit. Gaiman's Bod is a bit questionable, maybe--he gets the bad guys, but like Scarlett questions, does that make him a good guy if the final Jack is as good as dead? Etc. It just raises interesting questions.
As a Hybrid
Considering my idea of Gaiman's work is that it appeals to both children and adults equally, when you look at The Graveyard Book as a book for older readers, the illustration aspect is certainly interesting. Because we, as older readers, recognize that the topic is not exactly the most... children's-y. (Yes, that's a word.) We have illustrations, but all of very gaunt, severe kinds of people, all kind of dark and reminiscent (to me) of Chinese ink drawings with swirls and shades of black and gray... Really it was delightful, though I tried to read over the illustrated pages extra fast when I was in public places so no one would see me reading a picture book and give me funny looks.
See what I mean?
As a Ghost Story
Ha ha. The Graveyard Book kind of amuses me when I think of it "as a ghost story" because a better way to put it would be to think of it "as a people story." Because, when you talk of a ghost story, usually you have a cast of living, breathing humans who encounter a ghost; but in this case you have a cast of ghosts who encounter a human. It is set up as if ghosts are the norm and people are strange rather than the other, commoner way around--and I find it delightful. Delightful in style, in how it turns norms upside down, etc... I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4 comments:
I really enjoyed this post!
This, like the rest of Gaiman's "children's" books seems to lie in a gray area. This book can be read by a child and mean something completely different than it would to an adult. I wish I could have read this when I was younger, to have a comparison. I'm sure your Lit class has probably covered similar gray area stories. I suppose as a child, we would not truly consider the loss of Bod's parents, but rather the excitement of living with ghosts! As adults, we are more likely to focus on the "real" parts of the story, such as murder and the inevitable onset of adulthood when Bod leaves the graveyard.
I also had the awkward feeling of reading what appeared as a children's book in public. The phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" seems to fit here perfectly. Sure, there were pictures and the book was very short with large print, but the story itself did not agree with the image. The pictures seemed to play a role in the ambiguity of the story. Like you said, they were overly creepy drawings to you, but to a child, maybe they aren't.
Delightful is the right way to put it. I loved this book (my favorite so far), and one reason I think I do love it is because it is so universal. I think that anyone who picks this book up will be able to get something out of it, regardless of their age or anything else. If you like reading, then there is something there for you.
I was much less awkward about reading "The Graveyard Book" on the train in Germany than I was about reading "Beastly" in the Atlanta airport... lol
I completely agree with the versatility of the book. There's something for everyone. Kids will enjoy the story, though that might not understand all the underlying parts at first. There's plenty of adventure and action for everyone, and the story itself is something that adults who are into more supernatural stories will be fascinated by as well. I think it would make a great movie, as well.
I loved the illustrations, and thought they were just abstract enough not to detract from what I had pictured in my head.
I would agree with John that one of the unique pleasures of this book is the ageless quality it has. Like Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass series, and to a lesser extent Harry Potter, the meaning it holds is directly proportional to what you bring in.
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