Personally I’ve never read Rudyard Kipling’s book, but I do see the resemblance to The Jungle Book in Neil Gaiman’s latest work. He’s proven that he’s quite capable of writing stories for both adults (American Gods)and children (Coraline), and The Graveyard Book feels a bit situated in the center, with some dark themes like death and murder made lite.

As usual, Gaiman’s writing is cool, clear, and has it’s own style and sense of humor about it. The characters are developed well enough with many intentionally left ambiguous to leave it up to the imagination. Since the majority of the book takes place in one setting it’s difficult to keep it from getting stale, but Gaiman manages to throw in enough characters – after all, he has an entire graveyard’s worth! – to keep it interesting.

The structure of the book felt more like it was made up of individual episodes rather than a novel, which at times was slightly jarring for some reason. It just felt like there wasn’t much continuity from chapter to chapter, and with the book already short (don’t be fooled by the page count) it kind of made the whole thing whiz by. Couple that with the fact that it almost entirely takes place in the graveyard and… well, yeah. I would’ve liked to see more outside in the real world, but I guess that all depends on the story, eh? In that sense it felt very much like Coraline’s concentrated world around her house.

I’m enjoying Neil Gaiman’s versatility, and it’s been interesting to see his popularity grow since reading Neverwhere over a decade ago. I’m kind of hoping he’ll return to the realm of adult novels though, since he hasn’t done anything since Anansi Boys in 2005, which was a bit disappointing to me. I’ll be watching Twitter.

This book was just wonderful. I’m having such a difficult time finding things to say about it besides the fact that it was amazing. It’s sweet without ever being saccharine. There’s hilarious moments (I loved the ghouls), sad and scary moments, and the ending is just right, leaving you hoping for another book please please. I have to agree with Leila, this book feels very similar to Sandman, but without some of the horror content. Adult themes lurk around the edges of the story – after all, this is about growing up – and there are plenty of frightening characters in and out of the graveyard (mostly out). The characters are all so full of life (forgive the pun) – all around, this book was amazing.

I have to say that the audio version of this is just brilliant. I listened to Neil Gaiman read Coraline, and he did a great job there – but this blows that reading out of the water. The characters, the accents, everything is so developed, you forget you’re listening to just one person reading. Just listen to the chapter with the ghouls and Miss Lupescu and Bod’s adventures through the ghoul gate… you’ll be hooked! I know I’m going to have to check out the paper copy of the book, to peak at Dave McKean’s illustrations, but I’m going to be recommending the audio version to everyone.

The author Neil Gaiman did an interview that I heard where he described getting the idea for this Newbery award winning book many years ago watching his son riding his tricycle between gravestones. He was inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book in which wolves raise the orphaned Mowgli.

In The Graveyard Book a baby just learning to escape his crib also escapes the murderer who has just killed his family and find protection in a nearby graveyard. The long-dead and childless Owens adopt the boy and name him Nobody – Bod for short. Along with the mysterious Silas who acts as Bod’s guardian they raise and continue to protect him.

I previewed this book to see if my nieces (ages 7 and nearly 9) would like it. Although it is a great read and I found the story interesting, I am not convinced that it is appropriate for young children. There are some really scary moments and others that I still don’t quite understand so how would I explain it to them? My sister (their mom) is reading it now so she can decide.

When I bought this book at the local Barnes and Noble the kid at the checkout counter was beside himself with glee. He told me all about the comics that Gaiman has written and raved about his other books like Coraline. Seems he was right – and he got me to contribute to a fund for young readers.

The Graveyard Book is a children’s book — probably most appropriate for readers in the 10-13 year-old range — which pays an homage to Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. A young boy’s family is murdered in the night by the mysterious man Jack, but the boy slips away to the nearby graveyard. The ghosts who reside in the graveyard agree to take the boy in and raise him, safe and hidden away from the world of people, while the undead figure Silas will act as his guardian. They christen the boy “Nobody,” or Bod for short. Each chapter of the book is episodic and pretty much self-contained, relating an incident in Bod’s childhood as he learns the ways of the dead. But everything he learns will serve him well when the Jacks finally hunt him down.

As it is a children’s book, The Graveyard Book may not be entirely satisfactory to adult readers. I myself would love to see another novel for adults featuring some of the same characters, such as Silas. But The Graveyard Book is wonderfully written and entirely absorbing nonetheless, a fantasy that will transport all readers to the hidden world Gaiman creates in the overgrown, forgotten graveyard where ghosts turn out to be quite ordinary people really (but watch out for the ghouls!). Ultimately, this is a universal story as well, a classic coming-of-age tale, with a bittersweet ending as Bod inevitably must leave his childhood behind. This is going in my son’s library, and I will enjoy reading it aloud to him when he is old enough.

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I liked it. Reminiscent of other Gaimans (which is both a good and a slightly bad thing – I sometimes find that each book has characters that feel like other characters, such as the man Jack and the pair of baddies in Neverwhere, but then again, it’s been a while since I read Neverwhere).

As always, Gaiman tells a good story, and well. His conversational tone entertained me and, I thought, would work well for a younger person reading this book.
I enjoyed the progression we saw in Bod, and I became more and more fond of him as the book progressed.
One concern I have is that the opening is pretty intense, and I’d be afraid that I’d traumatize any youngster I gave or read this book to.
I really liked the Danse Macabre treatment.

Lovely, a bit dark and a bit sad, but really lovely.