The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

[Dominique]

I thought I'd start a thread on this as I've just finished it and quite enjoyed it and I know a few others have read it as well.

It reminded me a fair bit of Harry Potter in some ways! I don't mean it copied Harry Potter or anything like that but it felt like the same kind of reading experience if that makes sense. Boy's family killed by someone associated with some sort of weird cult (The Man Jack thingy/The Death Eaters etc) and the Sleer thing reminded me a bit of the Slytherine snakey things. Also I guess the whole perspective of a young boy being taught some mythical sorts of stuff.

I didn't realise it had so many similarities with The Jungle Book until I read Gaiman's afterward, but now looking back I can definately see them.

The only other Gaiman book I've read is Good Omens, which he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett (which I loved!). What are his other main things that I should try?

[zeldafitzgerald]

I agree with you about the Harry Potter similarities, Dom. I also think Bod is a little similar in nature to Harry. It was a great reading experience.

I would like to read The Jungle Book now, I've never read it.

The only other Neil Gaiman book I've read is Coraline, but I enjoyed it a lot. I liked The Graveyard Book more, but I still recommend Coraline.

Edit: I forgot to say that I am also very happy he won the Newbery for TGB.

[Bad Kitty]

Just started on this a few hours ago. Enjoying it so far. Will comment more when finished.

[Bad Kitty]

I liked it. Though I think if it had been written by a less well-established author (particularly a first time female author) it would have possibly been dismissed as a Harry Potter rip-off.

In my opinion, it is actually better than Harry Potter in that, first and foremost, it is far more succinct. I mean, when you look at it as a whole, it basically tells the same story as the Harry Potter saga in 300 pages or less instead of 7 (often mammoth) books. There is no filler and no rather pointless red herrings thrown into the plot. But I think that reflects on the experience of the respective authors rather than neccessarily their inate levels of talent. JK Rowling was a first-time author and (I believe she has said in interviews that she didn't really know "how she was going to get there" in terms of telling the story and getting it to the end) so there was bound to be some problems for her (what first time novelist DOES know when to stop?) But no such trouble with a man who has been writing and publishing work for over 20 years like Gaiman. Or ,perhaps, Gaiman just has a better editor?

I also felt there was a clearer and "better" moral to The Graveyard Book than in the Harry Potter stories. Gaiman, it seemed to me, took some issue with the killings in the Harry Potter books and perhaps used the end of The Graveyard Book to counter it (by having Scarlett be horrified by what Bod did to the man Jacks, even though he didn't exactly kill them, and having her accuse him of not being human or being just as bad as them.) I felt that was a more interesting way to end the story than was achieved in the Harry Potter books (where basically all the bad guys are simply killed by the good guys.) More "grey area" (ha!) than Rowling allowed (or was able to write convincingly) in her books.