This fanta
sy novel opens with the murder of a family by a knife-wielding intruder referred to as “the man Jack.” Unfortunately for Jack, the baby of the family escapes and somehow stumbles through the streets into a forgotten graveyard. Once there, its long-dead inhabitants come alive and begin a debate about the merits of keeping and raising the boy. A mysterious character named Silas sways the debate in favor of keeping the boy. His name is “Nobody,” and the sympathetic Owens family adopts him. He is given “Freedom of the Graveyard” status, guaranteeing his safety as long as he stays inside its gates.The remainder of this coming-of-age story chronicles Bod—as he is now known—and his life inside and outside of the graveyard. He makes a friend in Scarlett Perkins when he is six years old, loses her when she moves away, and gets her back when she returns from Scotland. He learns about the other characters in his “neighborhood” and has adventures with ghouls and witches. In an effort to be like other humans, he even gets to go to school once he convinces Silas that it would be a good idea. (It isn’t.) While he is growing up, the evil forces represented by “the man Jack” are still at work, hunting for him and eventually finding him.
Analysis:
If readers ever wondered about the nightlife in a disused graveyard tucked in a corner of London, this novel would be perfect. Its descriptions are vivid, and its characters from different times in London’s past all reflect their periods and social classes. He uses humor as Charles Dickens did to enliven a colorful cast of characters and situations. When introducing a graveyard resident, he uses the epitaph from that person’s tombstone. The Persson Family is remembered as “They sleep to walk again” (186), while Mr. Thomas Pennyworth has “here he lyes in the certainty of the moft glorious refurrection” (104). Josiah Worthington, someone whose opinion holds sway among the dead, is referred to as “Josiah Worthington, Bart.,” the traditional abbreviation for a baronet.
Subtly, with the graveyard as his setting, Gaiman reminds his readers that death unites all members of all classes of the human race. While Josiah Worthington, Bart. and Caius Pompeius may have been important personages in their respective lives, in the graveyard they are two more voices, even if they do put on airs. This feature of the novel also allows Gaiman an opportunity to transport his readers through England’s rich past, from the time of the Romans until the Victorian period. While younger readers may miss the history and humor here, it certainly appeals to those with experience in English literature and history.
Even if readers would miss some of the subtlety, Gaiman tells an excellent story. He opens the novel dramatically: “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife” (2). The hand belonged to “the man Jack” who virtually disappears from the novel after his unsuccessful attempt to get the boy out of the graveyard in the first chapter. Without a primary antagonist, readers focus on Bod’s story as he grows (quickly), matures and learns about life inside and outside of the graveyard.
The colorful, almost Dickensian characters and situations turn this into a coming-of-age story. He makes and loses a friend in Scarlett Perkins, and in doing so learns about the Sleer. Later, an eight-year-old Bod wants to give a headstone to Liza, a young witch he has befriended. He steals a brooch and takes it to a local shop, whose owner, Abanazer Bolger, just happens to be in league with “the man Jack. Bolger sees an opportunity to satisfy his greed doubly, with the boy and the valuable brooch. Bod escapes by using a spell he’s had difficulty learning, but this situation forshadows the return of “the man Jack.” When Bod encounters the “night gaunts,” he escapes from a cast of criminals introduced as the 33rd President of the United States, the Emperor of China and the writer Victor Hugo. As a youngster in Dickens would, he uses his wits, learning and a bit of luck to wriggle out of difficult situations. Later, when he goes to school, Bod shows his maturity and sense of justice by standing up to the class bullies and barely manages to survive his foray into the “real” world.
Gaiman also introduces an overarching concept of good and evil as both distinct from and related to Bod and his story of growing up. Silas and the stern Miss Lupescu, Silas’s stand-in as a teacher and caregiver for Bod, are members of a team attempting to counteract the evil Brotherhood as represented by “the man Jack.” Silas and Miss Lupescu (whose cooking and teaching style Bod detests) are out fighting larger, unseen battles. Bod matures in the graveyard and its immediate surroundings, but his maturity and learning about life are merely preparation for something larger. Ultimately, Bod must fight his own battle against the man Jack, learning the true story of his past and preparing himself for an independent future outside of the graveyard.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (Grade 6 and up)
Review Excerpts:
This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel's ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages. (Booklist, September 15, 2008)
The author riffs on the Jungle Book, folklore, nursery rhymes and history; he tosses in werewolves and hints at vampires--and he makes these figures seem like metaphors for transitions in childhood and youth. (Publishers Weekly, September 29, 2008)
Childhood fears take solid shape in the nursery-rhyme–inspired villains, while heroism is its own, often bitter, reward. Closer in tone to American Gods than to Coraline, but permeated with Bod's innocence, this needs to be read by anyone who is or has ever been a child. (Kirkus Reviews)
In this novel of wonder, Neil Gaiman follows in the footsteps of long-ago storytellers, weaving a tale of unforgettable enchantment. (New York Times, October 27, 2009)
Readers quickly begin to care about Bod and the graveyard residents… Everyone who reads this book will hope fervently that the very busy author gets around to writing one soon. (Voice of Youth Advocates, August 1, 2008)
Gaiman has created a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family. (School Library Journal, October 1, 2008)
Reviews retrieved from Bowker’s Books in Print database, September 10, 2011.
Awards & Recognition:
Newbery Medal, 2009
ALA Notable Book for Children, 2009
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