June 01, 2004
Coraline
I really like Neil Gaiman's stuff. He's best known for his work on the Sandman graphic novel series. And in the book world for
American Gods or
Neverwhere.
This book is supposed to be one of his children's books. And well, I'm not sure it would be good for bedtime stories because it is damn creepy.
Coraline is a little girl whose parents just moved to this big old house. She sees herself as an explorer and she resents her parents as being boring. Wouldn't you know it? One day she finds an entrance to a twisted mirror world where she has these "other parents" that will give her anything she wants. Of course, she refuses to be adopted by these "other parents" and then her real parents get kidnapped. The rest of the book is spent trying to get her real parents back.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing how alike this story is to Miyazaki's Spirited Away. Which may be not coincidental that Neil Gaiman did the American translations of both Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. But then, maybe they're all inspired in a way by Alice in Wonderland.
The book reads sort of like a kid's horror story. It's a thrilling page turner. I read it in a week. And maybe I underestimate kids. Or maybe the book is meant for older kids as a sort of introduction to the macabre.
In a nutshell: Good book. Creepy atmosphere. Possibly scary for young kids. Fun for older kids and for adult fans of Neil Gaiman.
Posted by joel at June 1, 2004 01:36 PM