Having posted the review on American Gods, I suddenly realized I hadn't posted my review for The Graveyard Book, though it was one of the first books I read this year! Therefore, here is the review for The Graveyard Book.
Neil Gaiman is a mad genius. I think we can all agree on that point. His books and short stories are so wonderfully whimsical and imaginative, and I think that kind of originality is really hard to come by. I like that his work sometimes does end up paying tribute on some way to an earlier work or series, but always takes an interesting and/or unique spin on it (I'm looking at you, 'The Problem with Susan' and 'A Study in Emerald').
The Graveyard Book is a) clearly meant for a younger audience and b) clearly an interpretation of The Jungle Book. It is entirely Gaiman - whimsical and delightful and easy to read. I don't really know what else I can say about it - it's a quick and easy read, but a good one. I have no major criticisms and I think it succeeds on what Gaiman's given it - whimsy. I didn't know what was going to happen in the story - I couldn't even really guess. I wanted to know how it ended, how it got to the ending, I wanted to know how Bod grew up and so on.
It's definitely worth a read, and would make a great gift to a younger reader - probably someone in the 8-12 range would be appropriate.
Neil Gaiman is a mad genius. I think we can all agree on that point. His books and short stories are so wonderfully whimsical and imaginative, and I think that kind of originality is really hard to come by. I like that his work sometimes does end up paying tribute on some way to an earlier work or series, but always takes an interesting and/or unique spin on it (I'm looking at you, 'The Problem with Susan' and 'A Study in Emerald').
The Graveyard Book is a) clearly meant for a younger audience and b) clearly an interpretation of The Jungle Book. It is entirely Gaiman - whimsical and delightful and easy to read. I don't really know what else I can say about it - it's a quick and easy read, but a good one. I have no major criticisms and I think it succeeds on what Gaiman's given it - whimsy. I didn't know what was going to happen in the story - I couldn't even really guess. I wanted to know how it ended, how it got to the ending, I wanted to know how Bod grew up and so on.
It's definitely worth a read, and would make a great gift to a younger reader - probably someone in the 8-12 range would be appropriate.
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