Books

Feb. 1st, 2009 07:43 am
dsrtao: dsr as a LEGO minifig (Default)
[personal profile] dsrtao
_The Graveyard Book_, Neil Gaiman

Yup, it's quite good. The premise is, roughly, "What if Neil Gaiman were to take some of the themes of Kipling's _The Jungle Book_, and to set it in a graveyard full of dead people (i.e. ghosts) and stranger entities?" My kids aren't ready for this, but it will only be a few years until they are.

There is an appropriate ending. The big question set at the beginning is resolved. Along the way, I can see several sections which could each have been a novel rather than a short story, had Gaiman opted to take the Harry Potter route... but the work as a whole would not have been so delightful in its concision. As it is, this is a properly made truffle: one large bite, bittersweet and intense, carrying a single flavor which is interesting for the smooth flow from initial burst through mouth-filling roundness to aftertaste.

(no subject)

Date: 2009-02-01 07:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lauradi7.livejournal.com
The readings he did on tour (one chapter per day) are still available at
http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx

(no subject)

Date: 2009-02-04 11:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] metahacker.livejournal.com
I have to say Gaiman does excel at actually *ending* his stories. It's one of the things I admire about his writing, and seek to emulate...
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