The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman (unabridged audiobook read by the author; 7.75 hours on 7 discs): Bod (short for Nobody) Owens lives in a graveyard, raised by the ghosts and otherworldly beings who live there. This tale chronicles his entire childhood including his adventures with ghoul gates, Hounds of God, the Sleer, and fellow living children. The narration borders on the lyrical, with ghostly voices like rustling leaves and Bod’s guardian Silas the most mysterious of them all (though I have my suspicions). This is one of those rare books that I enjoyed so thoroughly that I can’t think of anything to say about it in my review. It’s weird and funny and bittersweet and very memorable. I will definitely be reading it again one day.
A note on the audio version: Very few writers are good readers, but Gaiman is one of the best of both. I was completely enchanted by his gentle narration, and I advise everyone not to miss out on a chance to listen to him read his stories. However, by listening to this on audio I missed out on Dave McKean’s illustrations. Which is why it is such good luck that I happen to own a paper copy as well, so I can go back and read it with Gaiman’s voice in my head and McKean’s drawings at hand.
I saw you were reading this and was so worried you might not like this book (for no reason other than the fact that I worry when books I like are hated by others). So I read your review cautiously. I’m happy to see that you enjoyed it! I did the exact same thing in earreading it and then getting a hold of a paper copy to look at the illustrations. I was really entranced by the book when Neil read a portion at the National Book Festival and was glad that the rest of the book was just as magical and creepy :-) Yay for loving the Graveyard Book!
Did you cry at the end? I totally did.
I cried at the end, too – a great book