siriusdog

[siriusdog]

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - A review

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This is a fine book. I might like it, I could have liked it. But I don’t. But is it fun, Yes. Would I ask you to read it? Yes, if you like the journey more than the destination. No, if you are like me.

Its about a boy who survives an assassination attempt from a eccentric guy. But he is a toddler. And he is raised by ghost-parents in a graveyard. Which might sound unusual but if you know Neil Gaiman, he writes the most unusual shit all the time. All his books are whimsical as fuck. This book has a character driven plot. There are many characters and they have this really own world and they are living with their thoughts, fears and their own battles which are never indulged in the book. As all his books, the side characters usually have a captivating story but are only teased a bit. Even though, the book is silly at times the book is still grounded in reality and is not a fantasy book. I wouldn’t say that it’s a children’s book.

The story is because a boy grows in a graveyard. And he sees things there. We see the world through his eyes. And as you can see, these things are not normal. So from a toddler to a teenager, he has no sense of normality and he yearns for it. He is warned the outside world is danagerous because the serial killer is still there. We never know the things that happen in the real world. Believe me, the things that actually happen is really really interesting but we never know what’s happening because as always we get a protagonist who is shielded from the actual dangers and in the finale he comes out and takes down some of the people.

It isn’t like he is like Harry Potter who kills Voldemort. Its more like many people do stuff and he does stuff and helps a bit in killing a part of the big bad. Neil Gaiman loves to keep you in the out, docile, and away from any real action. He never tells you things explicitly. That’s his style.

He focuses on small things, the places, the people and their whimsy. What’s more infuriating is everyone except you and protagonist knows what’s happening. And, all the time you are just a dumb fucking idiot grasping at shreds of paper and assembling them to know what’s happening. I read this book because I liked Good Omens. It was a nice prime series (season 1). So I bought it, and thus I read it.

[siriusdog]

Book Review:

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon: 4/5 FM, M

This book follows an autistic boy who is going on an adventure to get what he wants which is to find the identity of his dog’s killer. This book is relatable to anyone on the spectrum and it makes sense and provides comfort to them. A must read, engaging and page-turning hidden gem for sure.

One of the reasons this book is a gem because you can relate to it, if you are someone who gets hung up on small things (for others) and have a strong sense of justice. And there are not a lot of books which give this feel.

[siriusdog]

Read 30 books this year with me

Completed (7/30):

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Vendor of Sweets by R.K. Narayan

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

RIP (Reading in Progress) (3/30):

The Thousand Year Old Boy by Ross Welford

Not Dead Yet by Phil Collins

Never by Ken Follett

Books to Read (14/30):

Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Intensity by Dean Koontz

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn