The Graveyard Book: The Horror of the Living
Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book takes the ideas of The Jungle Book and relocates them to a modern English graveyard. Like Rudyard Kipling's classic, the story centers on a young boy whose family is killed when he is only a baby, and he is rescued and adopted by an unusual group of beings - but instead of wolves, Gaiman's young Bod (short for Nobody) is taken in by the ghosts in the graveyard. Each chapter then recounts an incident from a moment in the boy's life, as he gradually gets older and learns what it means to be a man while growing up outside of the human realm.
Neil Gaiman interestingly seems to have tapped into an theme which Andy Serkis' Mowgli movie also finds in the story of The Jungle Book: the dangers of the human world.
The greatest danger to young Bod throughout his childhood is the human world that exists outside the graveyard and occasionally invades his home. His family was murdered by a man who continues to be a threat to his existence, thus he is ironically forced to take shelter within the world of the dead. Although he comes into contact with all kinds of dangerous an unusual characters, Bod is familiar with the ways of the graveyard, and his makeshift family teaches him how to survive in their world. But none of them know enough about the outside world; most of them can't leave the graveyard at all. They can't teach him how to behave or what to do while among the living because they've all been dead too long to know what the world is like. Only Silas, the vampire, can leave, but even he feels safer with the dead. Plus, none of Bod's family knows what kind of dangers may still face the boy if his family's killer is out there.
Time and time again Bod finds himself in some kind of trouble, but more often than not that trouble accompanies the presence of the living. Whether the people come to him or he enters their world, the problem always comes when living people discover Bod's existence. As long as the living know that he is alive, his life is in danger.
Paradoxically, even Death (called the Lady on the Grey) herself is safer than the living people that Bod encounters. When he sees her at the Danse Macabre, she is beautiful and gentle and kind, and he is so excited to have the chance to dance with her. And, though he may not know it, she is the one who asks the residents of the graveyard to take him in when he first seeks refuge with them.
Perhaps Gaiman does this because he wants to teach children that death doesn't have to be something that is feared. Like most of the graveyard residents, Death is not inherently frightening. These are the people who protect Bod from the man who wants to kill him; they are his friends and family.
By way of contrast, Bod only ever makes one human friend and, even though she poses no danger to him, their connection puts his life on the line again. And the older he gets, the less he is able to stay in the graveyard. He finds himself being drawn into the world from which he came and forced to accept the fact that there will come a day when he is no longer able to live among the dead anymore. So, perhaps there is a subtle message being communicated through this children's novel about the dangers of our world and growing up. Maybe Gaiman uses Bod to demonstrate the inevitability of aging and learning to go it on your own. As the innocent young protagonist ages, he finds that there is danger no matter where he goes, but he also finds hope as he discovers that he is more and more capable of caring for himself.
Whatever the case may be, this children's novel takes the elements of a classic horror story and twists them into a tale of youth, innocence, and hope that makes it perfect for young readers. I would have loved to have read this as a kid. I love the little hints of history woven throughout. And the romanticized view of the graveyard adds the perfect atmosphere for me - I have been known to enjoy a stroll through a cemetery now and then because I find them peaceful and beautiful places to remember those who have lived and died. I think this would have been a great read for me, and I definitely intend on giving this book to my own children someday.
Neil Gaiman interestingly seems to have tapped into an theme which Andy Serkis' Mowgli movie also finds in the story of The Jungle Book: the dangers of the human world.The greatest danger to young Bod throughout his childhood is the human world that exists outside the graveyard and occasionally invades his home. His family was murdered by a man who continues to be a threat to his existence, thus he is ironically forced to take shelter within the world of the dead. Although he comes into contact with all kinds of dangerous an unusual characters, Bod is familiar with the ways of the graveyard, and his makeshift family teaches him how to survive in their world. But none of them know enough about the outside world; most of them can't leave the graveyard at all. They can't teach him how to behave or what to do while among the living because they've all been dead too long to know what the world is like. Only Silas, the vampire, can leave, but even he feels safer with the dead. Plus, none of Bod's family knows what kind of dangers may still face the boy if his family's killer is out there.
Time and time again Bod finds himself in some kind of trouble, but more often than not that trouble accompanies the presence of the living. Whether the people come to him or he enters their world, the problem always comes when living people discover Bod's existence. As long as the living know that he is alive, his life is in danger.
Paradoxically, even Death (called the Lady on the Grey) herself is safer than the living people that Bod encounters. When he sees her at the Danse Macabre, she is beautiful and gentle and kind, and he is so excited to have the chance to dance with her. And, though he may not know it, she is the one who asks the residents of the graveyard to take him in when he first seeks refuge with them.
Perhaps Gaiman does this because he wants to teach children that death doesn't have to be something that is feared. Like most of the graveyard residents, Death is not inherently frightening. These are the people who protect Bod from the man who wants to kill him; they are his friends and family.
By way of contrast, Bod only ever makes one human friend and, even though she poses no danger to him, their connection puts his life on the line again. And the older he gets, the less he is able to stay in the graveyard. He finds himself being drawn into the world from which he came and forced to accept the fact that there will come a day when he is no longer able to live among the dead anymore. So, perhaps there is a subtle message being communicated through this children's novel about the dangers of our world and growing up. Maybe Gaiman uses Bod to demonstrate the inevitability of aging and learning to go it on your own. As the innocent young protagonist ages, he finds that there is danger no matter where he goes, but he also finds hope as he discovers that he is more and more capable of caring for himself.
Whatever the case may be, this children's novel takes the elements of a classic horror story and twists them into a tale of youth, innocence, and hope that makes it perfect for young readers. I would have loved to have read this as a kid. I love the little hints of history woven throughout. And the romanticized view of the graveyard adds the perfect atmosphere for me - I have been known to enjoy a stroll through a cemetery now and then because I find them peaceful and beautiful places to remember those who have lived and died. I think this would have been a great read for me, and I definitely intend on giving this book to my own children someday.
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