(Image by The Brothers Hilts, illustrators of The Insomniacs)
There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.
One of the things that I love about Neil Gaiman is that he knows that there is a special thrill in being scared, especially when you are a kid. Now I realize that all children are different and some definitely DO NOT enjoy anything frightening, but many, many children are braver and more willing to face fears than some adults are and Neil taps into that with his young adult books, Coraline and The Graveyard Book. When Coraline was released Neil Gaiman shared in many an interview that kids found the book exciting and adults found it terrifying. Gaiman continues the idea that many children delight in a little fright by opening The Graveyard Book on a very dark note.
As we enter this discussion of the first three chapters of The Graveyard Book, one of the things I would especially like to hear about is whether or not you enjoyed being frightened as a child and alternatively, as an adult, what are your thoughts on the opening of this novel.
Neil Gaiman speaks of the concept of ‘story shape’ and for me there are some novels that just feel story-shaped. Or perhaps a better explanation is that they are the kind of fluid, alive stories that they pour into that story-shaped place inside my heart and ooze into all the corners, filling up the gaps and leading to a complete and total feeling of satisfaction. The Graveyard Book is one of those novels for me. The moment I hear Neil reading that first line (for I am once again listening to the audio), a warm glow comes over me and I know I am in for a good time.
Gaiman creates interesting characters and very early in the proceedings we meet some of the inhabitants of the graveyard and although we don’t see much of them you get the feeling that these are going to be some fun folks to spend time with. I enjoy the concept of the dead in this story carrying on with their existence in the graveyard, especially as we see early on that these are a variety of people from a lot of different periods in time. It must have been a fun idea to toy with right from the very start, knowing that he would have several different kinds of voices to play with in creating characters with personalities and ways of interact that reflect the culture of the era in which they lived. And then we have Silas, a character who exudes mystery right from the very beginning. I like watching Gaiman (or listening to Gaiman) reveal Silas as the story develops. And Mistress Owens steals my heart away right from the start.
I was introduced to Neil Gaiman’s work just as he was completing The Sandman series and what hooked me into his writing more than anything was the way in which he wove in mythology and folklore and characters real and imagined. We see glimpses of this right away in chapter 1 of The Graveyard Book. Here I am thinking of The Lady on the Grey who, like Silas, is shrouded in mystery right from the start.
Chapter Two is a delightful, scary and heart-breaking chapter. So much happens in such a short period of time. I enjoy the way that Gaiman captures the dialogue between Bod and his new friend, Scarlett. This is especially apparent when you listen to the audio. Both kids sound like…kids! They aren’t precocious, they aren’t unnaturally smart or talented or insightful. They are kids. Its great. The chapter works well not only in introducing a new character but also in giving the reader a ‘show don’t tell’ exploration of the graveyard and some of the rules in this ‘universe’ that Gaiman has created.
The part of the story that takes place in the barrow is another great example of Gaiman doing scary well. He voices it so well and you can feel the palpable terror of Scarlett and, if you have a good imagination, this is a pretty darn creepy experience. There is something almost Lovecraftian about the experience in the barrow. Its hard to explain, but if you’ve read some of Lovecraft’s short stories I’d be curious if you agree.
And then of course the heartbreak where Bod loses the friend he has just recently gained. I feel such agony for him. The older I get the more I feel the importance of frienships driven home. When I reflect on my childhood, friends dominate so many of those memories. I think good friends are especially important in your formative years and Scarlett seems to be exactly what Bod needs in his life and to lose that so quickly is just sad.
And finally in Chapter Three we meet Miss Lupescu. In some ways Miss Lupescu is very much a cliched elementary school teacher but it feels that way because I expect most of us have experienced teachers like that in our lives. I certainly have. Right from the start, because of her friendship with Silas, you feel there is just something different about Miss Lupescu. Something behind the cliche. And of course there is! This is another great scary tale. It also feels Lovecraftian, now that I think about it. The idea of other worlds just below the surface of ours, worlds or places that have some evil connection, is what I look for when I read Lovecraft and although you know right away that Bod is going to get into trouble as he tests his independence, as a reader you want him to go ahead and go on that journey just so you can experience the thrills and chills. As is true of most of this book, I am impressed with the way Neil Gaiman examines the trials and tribulations of growing up but wraps it all within the trappings of a creepy fantasy world in a way that feels very authentic, very genuine, and very natural.
I suspect I’ll be saying much more about these three chapters as I visit your sites and comment here and I’ll save some of my thoughts for those conversations and for next week.
Don’t forget that Wednesday we have this additional event that you can participate in:
A Grave Tale
As ‘graveyards’ are the theme of this book and we will be in the month of October, I am proposing that anyone who wants to participate puts up a post on Wednesday, Oct 10th that has a ‘graveyard’ theme. It may be you writing about books or films set in graveyards that strike your fancy, it may be posting images of graveyards that you find around the ‘net that excite you and/or artist profiles of people who work in a ‘graveyard’ motif. It could be writing about famous graveyards that you would like to visit or about real-life scary graveyard experiences you’ve had as an adult or child. The choices are wide open! I’ll post a Mr. Linky on my entry for you to link yours (or again use the comments if you don’t have a blog) and I’ll do a drawing for a lucky individual to get your choice of one of Gothicrow’s prints.
Please leave a link to your first discussion post and lets chat about Bod and his first few adventures.
Ah, Miss Lupescu! She is wickedly fun. And Scarlett’s parents–I love how her dad refers to Bod as imaginary all the while assuring her it’s okay to have imaginary friends, and how Scarlett with that childhood naivete, believes him.
Isn’t she great? I love how she and Bod surprise Silas by their fondness for each other when Silas returns. How Bod hopes to see Miss Lupescu again and how Miss Lupescu volunteers to come back next high Summer to watch Bod again.
I am reading this out loud to my daughter. I read it this past summer, so I am super happy with how much she is enjoying it. Like any kid would be, she is very concerned about Bod. She loved it when he met Scarlett especially. She thinks the Freedom of the Graveyard is pretty cool! We only got through the first 2 chapters – I will be reading #3 to her tonight.
This is a great read-aloud book. I’m so glad that you are sharing it with her, how wonderful! I’m with your daughter, I think the Freedom of the Graveyard is pretty cool too. I love it as a story telling device and also cannot help wishing it were true and that I could be granted it, at least for a time.
Hi: the link was broke earlier. So glad to see it now. Posted my thoughts and I wanted to write that I’ve posted a bunch of old tombstones on the blog all week. Just click on label “tombstone art” and they will all come up. I am going to continue this all month. Loved your thoughts. So true. Thanks, Melinda
I am sooo far behind on my blog reading because of work and work being done on and around our house but I’m determined to get caught up this week. I look forward to checking out your posts.
I’m very glad to be re-reading this, I had forgotten how well he handled the friendship between Scarlet and Bod, it was really well done!
It really is a lovely part of the book, isn’t it Mikel. Sad too, but even that is part of the loveliness.
I was NOT into scary stories as a kid! Coraline would have given me such nightmares when I was a younger, and as for Sandman…I may never be “old enough” for that one! I do enjoy a little spookiness now, though, and I can appreciate well-crafted scariness. But I think that’s because now I can enjoy some chills and thrills without really being *scared.*
Graveyard Book is actually a great example in that it’s spooky in places, and certainly tense and sunspenseful in the first scene (and others), but not actually scary precisely. At least not to me!
Okay, this is a divergence, but it’s on the larger topic–my favorite scary story (in the larger sense of “story”) is a Season One Doctor Who two-parter, “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances,” with the creepiest ever monster, a little boy in a gas mask. It is SCARY. But it’s so interwoven with humor and character development that the scariness is there but not overwhelming. And then the last five minutes are so heart-warming that it makes me immensely happy and I can go to bed without being afraid of the dark. That’s the kind of scary I like.
Anyway, back around to The Graveyard Book–I’m thoroughly enjoying the spookiness and the tension, and I love the way some of the traditionally scary things, like ghosts and werewolves and–well, I think we all know what Silas is…are the friendliest, homiest, most relatable parts of the book. It’s such a clever inversion of the usual tropes!
I’ve never enjoyed overly gross scary stories but even as a child I delighted in a good atmospheric fright. The kind of nightmares I had, when I had them, were never about monsters under the bed of people come to murder me in my sleep or ghosts or anything like that so I thrilled at that kind of scare in my reading and viewing.
Yes, those episodes of Dr. Who are very, very scary. My friend Jeff was watching the show with his kids and they got freaked out and haven’t wanted to revisit Dr. Who all that much. The best scary one for me is still Don’t Blink and the first appearance of the angels.
The stuff you point out at the end of your comment are one of the things I like about this story and about Tim Burton’s films The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride and other similar shows. I like it when the trappings of horror are actually fun and nice.
I don’t think I was into scary stories a s a kid but I would have loved this. I don’t find it scary at all.
I was amazed again how Gaiman manages to draw you into a story although the plot as such isn’t that special yet, it is, like many write, rather episodic but there is the man Jack and we know he will be back we don’t know why he did what he did, so there is after all a lot of plot hiding.
I’m so glad I’m finally reading this and enjoy it a great deal.
I’m really curious about Jack. What a great introduction to a sinister character. Who, why, what–I have no idea yet and that makes the story good.
It is the episodic nature of this particular story that is one of its attractions for me as I find each episode special in its own way yet also know, from reading it several times, that it builds towards a greater purpose.
And yes, the man Jack is a very curious and sinister villain.
I think true fear comes from the unpredictable. As a kid, I liked testing limits, but if I learned that something, or someone, was unpredictable in their responses, avoidance was my policy.
I wasn’t really into scary movies or horror stories because I could nearly always guess how the ending would go. Predictable.
I love Gaiman’s works because he isn’t predictable and he gives me something more than typical horror works (like Lovecraft, who I enjoy) – he gives me a new mythology with each book. Yes, he often draws on existing myths, but many of the best and oldest stories have always done this. He wraps them around each other, intertwining different cultures and adding in the new.
Yes, unpredictability is very anxiety producing, even more so I think for adults. So many of us, myself included, are wired to be averse to change. We like what is comfortable and fear what is not.
I’ve never found myself swayed by the predictability of scary stories, it is all the build up and tension that is fun and even when you pretty much know the ending I find that good writers, or film makers, can still creep you out.
Gaiman does a great job of weaving in mythology while creating his own.
I used to get nightmares frequently as a kid, so I did NOT enjoy being scared in any capacity! Even now, I avoid horror movies like the plague. That said, I have come to appreciate a spooky/tense/suspenseful tale a bit more as an adult. I’m finding this book more mysterious than scary. I really like it so far (I’m about halfway through).
There seem to be secrets everywhere in this book, and I’m wondering how many of them are actually going to be resolved. For instance, what’s the deal with the Sleer? (Speaking of which, I thought that incident was an interesting side note on the burial practices of different eras and religions. The graveyard is basically within a Christian context, but there are also pagans of various types buried there.) I’m also very interested to learn more about Silas, who is my favorite character. What’s his background and history? I hope to learn more as the book progresses, but I’m guessing that Gaiman will choose to leave some things more or less shrouded in mystery.
I would occasionally have what I think now were night terrors but as I mentioned in another comment they were never about the things that were in scary stories and so I never really equated one with the other and thus loved the thrill of being scared by books and movies.
I’m glad you are enjoying it, it is such a great book. I like the way Gaiman has drawn in the earlier time period through the barrow as well. And the Sleer are great. I love the way Gaiman reads them in the audio. So sinister. And yes, expect more mystery. 🙂
I’m one who loved being scared. Iwas always drawn to scary stories as a child. I loved authors like Alvin Schwartz, and Mary Downing Hahn. I purposely got books from the library that had ghostly figures on the cover and promised a spooky ghost tale inside.
I’m not sure I would have found this very scary as a child. It is definitely a book that I would have loved for all of it’s spooky elements, though. Well, I take that back. Jack is definitely scary. If I was going to fear anything, it would have been him. The reality of Jack and his actions are truly frightening.
I haven’t heard of, nor consequently read, either of those authors. But now I am intrigued! I too loved finding ghostly looking covers on books at the library. It is because of that that I discovered Edward Gorey and fell hard for his illustrations.
It isn’t a wildly scary book and I’m glad about that because it is such a sweet book, set in such an unlikely setting, which makes the story all the more effective in my mind.
I would have loved this book at 11 or 12 or so. I was really into ghost stories at that time. I completely agree with your comment “what hooked me into his writing more than anything was the way in which he wove in mythology and folklore and characters real and imagined”. Sandman hooked me and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I read some great books as a kid, but part of me is sad that I didn’t have something like this to read as a kid. Gaiman is at the top of his game with this book.
I was listening to the first chapter this morning. Gaiman does not limit himself in forms of horror, from that sharp knife that can cut before you even notice, a baby ever on the verge of danger, dirty diapers, but the mother gets me every time, begging for the ghosts to save her baby. it slays me.
I adore Silas. The barrow is freaking creepy! I love the humor that alleviates the tension. I love hearing Gaiman’s delivery in the audio-version.
Yes, that is a very disturbing part of the book for any parent. We can agonize with the mother because we can unfortunately just begin to imagine how devastating it would be to be separated from our children when they are in danger.
Isn’t Gaiman’s reading great?!?!
I did not enjoy being scared as a child. However, like Caroline (above)I think I would have enjoyed this book as it involves myths and legends which I enjoyed then and now. I find myself having moments of ‘oh yes, I remember that myth. I wonder if he will include …?’ I find myself listening with ‘Anticipation’.
The opening scene is great; you are dumped into the middle of the events with no preamble and from then on you rarely get a chance to catch your breath.
In Carl’s intro to the book reading he mentions that each chapter is like a short story. I am really enjoying that element of the book, which I must say I had not noticed the first time I listened to the story (thanks Carl).
I think Gaiman does a very effective job from the point of view of this being a YA story of not letting any potentially scary parts get too far out of hand before assuring the reader that things are alright, that a person can be brave and not let fear take hold.
It is a really great start to the book, isn’t it? A man in the dark with a knife. Boom! You are right in the thick of danger from sentence one.
I am also re-reading it and it’s been such a treat! There are so many elements I’d forgotten. Like you mentioned, one of the most interesting parts is the mystery surrounding Silas. We know so little about him and yet we love him so much.
I have read or listened to this several times and even this time again I find myself surprised by things I forgot, or things I noticed more, or differently, this time around. I love that about good stories.
Hi Carl
Great write-up. I’m regretting not rereading this now! Although it was only a very short time ago that I did read it. I did love this book – I think every chapter just brings you a little story and they’re all so fascinating. I’m not going to put anything in here that will be spoilery! There’s such a lot still to enjoy though and it’s great reading everyone else’s comments.
I loved horror and scary stories when I was young – not to mention fast and scary rides. Although I probably always regretted it when I was in bed in the dark. I remember when I was really young and somebody told me the story of the Sandman – it scared me for ages thinking about this strange man who could come into your room at night and make you dream! Creepy. The other thing – I used to have the most horrible dream about was Santa Claus – now how weird is that? (Although maybe that’s also linked to the fact that it’s a strange person coming into your home!)
Thanks
Lynn 😀
I’m sorry that you aren’t doing so with us but I understand. There is just so much going on and so many books to read. I’m glad you are sharing your thoughts nonetheless.
I’m sure you aren’t the only one who had scary dreams about Santa Claus when you were a kid. I remember going to see Santa every Christmas and seeing/hearing so many kids screaming hysterically. I can only imagine what their bedtimes were like that night. Ha!
I’m behind and it’s the first week!
Jessica finally finished Hunger Games trilogy last night so I have a kindle again!
Yeah me!
Some birthday present that is turning out to be, lol!
I love how Gaiman creates worlds. Bod’s world feels safe and secure. He’s surrounded by those who would love and protect him. Yet, at the same time, you wonder how growing up in a graveyard can be anything but safe.
As Bod grows older, we experience his curiosity and journeys into independence. He’s like anyone else yet completely unlike us. This is what I love about the way Gaiman writes.
My husband, son and I had the pleasure of sitting in one of the pews of a St. Paul church as Neil read the final chapter of The Graveyard Book. It was the perfect setting. Listening to him read what is clearly a much loved creation was such a treat and I didn’t even mind that I was hearing the end of the story before the beginning!
I would have been charmed by The Graveyard Book as a young girl, just as I am today. Anyone remember, Horror Incorporated? I’d look forward all week to staying up late and watching the old (supposedly) scary movies with Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price, etc. Still love them today.
Carl, thank you so much for hosting this!! I only wish I hadn’t missed Wednesday’s fun. I have plenty of graveyard photos to share. There’s just something about walking around a cemetery and capturing just the right angle of light kissing the face of an angel…
Safe and sound in a graveyard, how cool is that?!?! So unexpected and yet so effective the way Gaiman creates it.
How awesome that you got to hear Gaiman read part of this book. I was able to hear see him on his Anansi Boys tour and that was fantastic, but this book is so special and that setting would have been an amazing place to experience it.
I don’t remember Horror Incorporated but I do remember late night and weekend horror television and it was always a real chilling treat to be able to experience it.
I Have just started to read this book, at first i was so into it i thought i might fall outta my desk in class, well i still almost fall out of my chair. The details are really great. I love the darkness of the book, and the way “Neil” describes Bod, how brave the boy is and his new friends.I feel as if i was Bod, the kid who lived in a graveyard. I have a really good imagination, it really feels like I’m there and that’s what i really like about this book. I’m a picky person when it comes to reading, but this is awesome. I’m on chapter four now. I want to read more and more.
Hey Lydia! I’m glad you are enjoying it. You should be reading it to your dad so he can participate, lol! I knew this is a book that you would enjoy reading, it is a special one and I’m happy to know that it has grabbed hold of your imagination.
Stay in your chair though!
Hey!
🙂
Under the age of eight, I was easily scared, even by specific scenes in Disney films (!), but I did then enjoy a period of time when I loved scary stories, though it soon became a case of my only enjoying the scary stories that I already knew. Somewhere around 12, I delighted in specific tales that I found terrifying, but only in situations that felt very safe, whereas after dark fell, I was too scared to even look at the book itself on the shelf. I was already into mysteries then, but in a few more years, true crime and horror would make their way onto my shelves.
I think the opening of this book would have initially scared me but if someone could have cajoled me into hearing the early bits through once (to find that it wasn’t as horrifying as I might’ve guessed) I would have positively delighted in it. (The music on the audiobook alone might have been enough to steel me through the initial scare: it’s wonderful!) The characters in the graveyard would have won me over, and Scarlet’s determined “I don’t care if you ARE imaginary” would have cemented my affections for Bod. This is my first reading (listening) of it now, and I’m loving every minute of it. (I just finished the third chapter this morning, so I’m a bit behind, but following along all the same.)
I was 11 or 12 when I first read Dracula and it is one of those stand out memories in my childhood of really being cognizant of how fun it was to be frightened by reading.
The music in the audio is great, isn’t it? It adds something to the experience of the story and is very unexpected the first time you hear it.