Book review: Coraline- Neil Gaiman

*****

I feel as though I’m being too liberal with my stars. I suppose that’s because I only read good books! I’m going to be reading some new (to me) books next though so we’ll see.

Coraline is a fantastically crafted story. It’s actually the book that introduced me to Neil Gaiman, who has become a trusted tenant of my bookshelf. The imagery in this book is so vivid that it’s believable, even though it’s so fantastical. Considering that the book is so short Gaiman manages to get the reader to believe some fairly impossible things in very few pages. That, to me, is important. In the first few pages of the book he sets the base for his story to begin, and then he just springboards off it and throws you into freefall. You’ll have no choice but to be swept away by his narrative.

One thing that, I think, makes this book so magnificent is its ability to put the characters in real danger, in a fantasy world, in a children’s book. Now, you may say that it’s been done before; “Harry Potter!” you’re all shouting at your screens. But allow me to assure you that it has NEVER been done like this before. It’s fiendishly clever and I particularly love the way that Gaiman talks, through Coraline, about bravery and courage. He manages to put in to words how a parents love can protect their child (the wasp anecdote) without being brave, or courageous. without fighting their fears or being extraordinary. Because it is completely and wonderfully ordinary for them to do that. They don’t need to be afraid of being hurt themselves, they have no choice. They have no choice because they are parents. And Coraline shows that that goes both ways, children don’t have a choice either, not when it comes to their parents.

This is a wonderful book for children, but for older kids too. I still love it and still enjoy reading it as a book that doesn’t patronise children. I find that that’s quite rare in children’s books. Often they are written for children, and that can in some way diminish the story telling, but Gaiman manages to circumvent that and has produced one the best children’s books that I’ve ever read. My only regret is that I never knew about it when it first came out and I was a child.

Have a lovely day,

Alys.

P.S. This is my 100th Post!! Yippee!