The Graveyard Book

I often find it difficult to engage in fantasy literature because I am apathetic towards fantastical events. I am disinterested in reading about paranormal activity, magical powers, or outlandish creatures because I do not believe they exist in real life. I found that The Graveyard Book did not deviate from my general disposition regarding this genre.

This book, for me, was a struggle to finish. I was engaged in the plot regarding the mystery surrounding the triple homicide and also the interactions that Bod had with other animate characters. However, I found these situations to be rather transitory throughout the story. The majority of the book centers around life in the cemetery and the spirits who inhabit it. I was neither interested in the nebulous history of the ghosts or their current relationship with Bod. Although I have tried since I was a child, I simply cannot stay focused on a plot that revolves around a fantasy world.

The most aggravating element of fantasy is when humans have the ability to transition into chimerical beings at will. When Miss Lupesco transforms in to the large gray wolf and saves Bod from entering the ghoul city, I had to put the book down. I know there is beauty in imagination, but this particular scene was so unbelievable that it frustrated me. I do not like to imagine these alternate worlds where the sky is red like blood and violent mythical creatures are running rampant. It is just plain creepy.

Taking a critical approach to this story, there were certain elements of fiction that I thought were incomplete. To me, all the characters except for Bod were vastly underdeveloped. Silas, a prominent character throughout the whole story, is never elaborated upon. I was confused as to what his business was in Krakow and I was intrigued with the depiction of his living self as being “…a monster, and worse than any [other] monster” (Gaiman 303). However, the story never goes in to detail as to who Silas was when he was alive or what atrocious crimes he committed that made him, as he proclaimed, a monster. Mistress Owens and her husband are also significant characters with little historical background. These characters are simply present in the graveyard and go about their business daily. Exactly what they do all day, everyday is never explicitly mentioned. I feel that the author failed to develop his main cast of characters, and as a result, he lost his audience rather quickly.

The narrative order in this story is strictly chronological. It follows Bod’s life as it unfolds from his infancy through his fifteenth year. I thought this was a good approach to take for this type of story because we are exposed to his constantly changing relationships within the cemetery as he continues to age as his companions do not. We see how his relationship with Liza becomes strained once he begins to develop into an adolescent. His friendship with Fortinbras wanes while his relationship with Thackery improves as he matures. I think the chronological nature of the narrative shows how life changed in the cemetery for Bod as he developed in to a young man.

In conclusion, although I liked the narrative order of events, I did not like the representation of characters or the overall structure of the plot. Although I can see this book having a strong appeal for students, I would not recommend it to an adult audience. I found it to be a trite and conventional piece of fantasy literature.