The Graveyard Book

[lightreads]

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A toddler runs from the murder of his family into a graveyard, where the ghosts take him in and raise him to a young man. But there are still people out there who want him dead.

All right, charmed. It’s funny and full of graveyard color, but in a really good way. There’s all the sparkle here that I thought was entirely lacking from Stardust, and several of his other books. The only sour note is that, at the end, [spoiler coming:] someone’s memory gets wiped, and I hate that. A lot. Psychological rape, not to put too fine a point on it.

But I do still really want to know more about this world, and the background struggles we only glimpsed. Sequel?

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Comments

[livingbyfiction.livejournal.com]

When I read the book myself, I could only rate it 3.5 or 4, but the audiobook was a definite 5. Gaiman's an engaging reader, and I thought the Bela Fleck banjo-and-cello accompaniment was pure delight.