It was the time to remember the people who had been,
Scary stories, movies and books were enjoyed by those who were keen,
Was a sight to watch folks wearing costumes wicked and mean,
It was the spooky festival that’s called Halloween.
There are two kinds of people in the world - Those who like reading and others who like the idea of reading but don’t read at all. After shuddering for a while at the thought that I was gradually drifting toward the second category, I picked up a book without much ado.
Last month, our library here was decked with witch hats, broomsticks, life-like ghost cut-outs and spooky spider pictures! This would have been weird on a normal day but looked well in place because it was the time of Halloween. The whole atmosphere egged me on to pick up a book from the paranormal genre to blend in with the festivities. The book kept on top of the ‘Halloween wall’ was ‘The Graveyard Book.’ I instinctively picked it up for its intriguing name and cover. However, when I started reading, I realized that this was a children’s book. But as great writers have aptly said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story.” It seemed to be a’grave’ mistake to stop reading it halfway, especially when it had no slow moment and I continued.
About the author: Neil Gaiman is an English author who mostly writes in the fantasy or paranormal genre. He writes with such flair that thousands of his fans are led to believing the unbelievable. His strong characters, picturesque descriptions and eloquent narration make him the master of a unique and magical world. He has won numerous awards in recognition of his work, six of which are for ‘The Graveyard Book’.
Story:
The first chapter starts at a gripping pace when an assassin tries to kill a toddler after killing the little one’s parents and sibling. The child somehow lands up in a nearby graveyard and the 300 ghosts in the graveyard protect him and manage to drive the assassin away! After a debate among the graveyard’s ‘resident ghosts’, it is decided that the child will stay in the graveyard and will be called Nobody Owens. A dead couple, called Mr. and Mrs. Owens, adopts him.
Silas who belongs to a world of neither the living nor the dead becomes his guardian and takes care of the material needs of the boy.
The rest of the chapters depict the years where Nobody(or Bod) spends his life on the graveyard. Every chapter is almost like an independent story, the characters of which are common. New characters are introduced in subsequent chapters and they all provide new dimensions to the endearing tale. With each new chapter, Bod Owens learns something new.
Once, he gets an invitation from the ghouls(who are much loathed among the dead as thieves are in the living world) to join his kind. At another occasion, Bod befriends a witch who is boycotted by the other residents of the graveyard! Bod even joins a real school where he is visible to everyone, but his paranormal guardians make sure that no teacher or student remembers him when he is out of their sight! The way he gets out of each of these sticky situations is thrilling in a very amicable way.
Apart from his school studies, he also learns some ghostly techniques from his graveyard mentors such as ‘dream-walking’, ‘fading away from sight’ and ‘haunting in dreams’.
Will the assassin be back even after 15 years to take care of some unfinished business? Will Bod, now a confident youngster be able to avenge his parents’ death?
Quotes:
Something(special) was going on. The Bartleby family were cleaning and tidying, all of them, from the oldest(d.1831) to the youngest(d.1690).
There were people you could hug and then there was Silas.
Silas said, “Someone might kill you.” Bod replied, “So? It’s only death. I mean, all my best friends are dead. How bad could it be?”
Fear is contagious and you can catch it.
My Opinion:
It is said that ‘The Graveyard Book’ is influenced by the Jungle book but since I have not read the latter, I am unable to draw parallels to them. It seems there is no movie made on this book, but there is huge potential for a movie maker to extract an entertaining story from this tale.
Bod’s transition from a toddler to a teenager is depicted with such convincing vividity that I felt I grew with him!
Once a while, it does seem to be a great idea to shun all rules and bask in the light of innocence with children’s books. Happy reading!