Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman (Author) & Dave McKean (Illustrator)

Friday, January 5, 2018


Title: Coraline

Series: Stand-Alone

Author:  Neil Gaiman (Author) & Dave McKean (Illustrator)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror

Publication Date: August 4th 2002 by HarperCollins

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library


Rating:







Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious.

What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson






Ahh what a beautiful and creeptastic book Coraline was for me in fact the graphic novel and the novel are almost the same, but there was a few difference between the novel and graphic novel. Plus the film is totally different from the book and graphic novel. But none the less I totally and utterly love and enjoy reading both novel and graphic novel the same, and I absolutely loved watching the movie as well! But this book I think is much more creepier than the graphic novel. There was just a couple of scenes in the book that had my skin crawling and shuttering. Ugh those scenes in the book had me creep the heck out there were also very eerie as well. I won't go into any details about Coraline because I think everybody knows what this amazingly and fantastic book is about. But once again Neil Gaiman has hooked me in another of his creepy story and plot from the beginning chapters until the very end. I was on my toes while reading through this whole book. I thoroughly loved and enjoyed Coraline so much that I can't wait to continue reading more Neil Gaiman books in the near future. I just love Neil Gaiman writing style he always hooks and enchants me from the very start of his book until the very end of it. Mr. Gaiman knows how too get a readers attention real fast and he sucks you into his fantastic world in his books. I just love when books do that too readers. All and all I love and enjoy everything in Coraline that I will most certainly will continue reading more Neil Gaiman books hopefully soonish!













I make things up and write them down. Which takes us from comics (like SANDMAN) to novels (like ANANSI BOYS and AMERICAN GODS) to short stories (some are collected in SMOKE AND MIRRORS) and to occasionally movies (like Dave McKean's MIRRORMASK or the NEVERWHERE TV series, or my own short film A SHORT FILM ABOUT JOHN BOLTON).

In my spare time I read and sleep and eat and try to keep the blog at www.neilgaiman.com more or less up to date.







    



3 comments:

  1. Awesome review!! Have you checked out the illustrated version of The Graveyard Book? I HIGHLY recommend that one! :)

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    1. No I haven't read the graphic novel of the graveyard book yet, but I am really dying too read it though. I just loved the novel version of the graveyard book too. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog Erica.

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