Book 255: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book, written by Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by Dave McKean, William Morrow, 2008.  Middle Grade to Adult.

I didn't actually buy this book; my brother did.  But when he asked if I wanted it, I say "YES!  A hundred times yes".

If Kipling's Jungle Book were modernized and set in a graveyard and written by Neil Gaiman, you'd have something very much like this book. Actually, you would have something EXACTLY like this book .

I'm not sure how to characterize Gaiman's writing -- it feels classic and modern all at once, and it feels like fantasy anchored in reality. All I know is that I've loved his writing since The Sandman. I could have devoured this book all in one sitting, but I didn't. I read it slowly over the course of four days, and savored every tiny bit of it. 


The illustrations, by Dave McKean, were good, but did not quite match the excellence of the writing.  I kept thinking that Art Spiegelman would have been a much better choice.