The Graveyard Book Gothic Elements Gloomy, Decaying Setting

Subterranean passages, hidden rooms, or trapdoors.

Beneath each depiction, students should provide a brief description of the element’s connection to the novel. Students can make reference to the list below to choose and depict 3-5 Gothic characteristics present in the novel. Have students use storyboards to identify the Gothic elements in the book. While I can’t say this is my favorite Gaiman, I CAN say that I was tickled to death to be listening to this on the very same week we listened to Stardust for our audiobook club.The Graveyard Book’s setting, characters, and tone borrow from the conventions of Gothic literature. Truly a top notch crew a sublime reading. Each individual is voiced by an ultra-competent actor who is also obviously having the time of their lives as they he or she narrates. I found it easy, and entertaining like crazy, to follow the many, MANY characters. The delivery of lines by several narrators can sometimes come at ya, all rapid fire like, and it can make for a confusing time, especially since there are no visual cues to follow in an audiobook. But I can tell you that sometimes I find Full-Cast productions to be unnerving (Listen: the production of Emma already reviewed here on Audiobook Accomplice). I don’t have the version he narrates in my Library, so I can’t tell you how the two Graveyards size up against each other. It turns out her family will later turn up in The Ocean at the End of the Lane (My personal Gaiman favorite… thus far…!).Ĭertainly Neil Gaiman coulda (and earlier has) narrated this himself. The story is dotted with clever allusions to history like that.Īlso clever is the ghost of the persecuted witch, Elizabeth.

I loved each and every ghost, and I loved how Bod would stomp off, all childlike and seek The Victorians, children who all died early due to illness their ghosts were his playmates.

Because Bod gets into one scrape after another and good faces evil many a time over. I kept wondering when something was going to happen.Īnd that’s when I realized: Holy cow! Just listen: EVERYthing is happening. ‘Twould appear that it was inspired by The Jungle Book, and it has that sort of feel to it, with escapades and episodes but no real coherent plot or storyline to follow. I have to admit that, tho’ I ADORE Neil Gaiman, I felt a bit detached from the story for quite some time. They’ve been dead eons, but they always wanted a child of their own, and here comes Bod.

His own family was murdered when he was but a mite of a lad, and he was taken in by Owens and Mistress Owens to care for him as his dad and mom. A different kind of family.Ĭuz, see, Nobody “Bod” Owens is growing up with a graveyard as home and with ghosts as family raising him.

The graveyard book genre