Monday, June 14, 2010

BLOGOSPHERE BOOK CIRCLE - JUNE BOOK

June Book: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman (Illustrations by Dave McKean)
First Published: 2008

From the blurb:
“Nobody Owens… is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.”

Neil Gaiman may be a ‘beloved master storyteller’ but I’m not interested in hearing.

I am totally turned off by this genre but I decided to surrender to the book circle process and give it a go. After all this is why I joined – to have me try reading stuff outside my normal scope.

In the end I spent about 30 minutes skim reading the entire book (it’s quite a short book aimed at a teen audience and, OK, it was a very quick skim read).

I tried. I really did. But I hated it. I couldn’t relate to the characters, the setting, the story, the genre. I didn’t want to. It’s just not me.

The illustrations served only to break up the text but to me didn’t add anything to the story. I think my imagination did a better job.

So an epic failure this month. I am hoping the second half of the year turns up some more interesting reads for me!

Melissa’s rating : 1/10 (now I’m feeling really bad about scoring Bad Science a 2 last month. After reading The Graveyard Book I should revise Bad Science to a 5!)

5 comments:

Penny said...

I hope there will be some you like in the second half too. :) You don't have to like everything! I surprised myself by liking this one despite my initial aversion to the idea of the undead. I found it more of a coming of age/crime story than anything.

Janine said...

I am gutted you didn't enjoy it, lol but I will build a bridge. I know I have said it time and time again but thats what I am enjoying about this group, all the varied reviews. I have to say it has been an interesting selection of books.

karen said...

aargh. I'm hopeful of better things from the second half too ... they're the ones I'm able to get from the library :)

Lisa66 said...

I am sooo far behind!! Have two books wait listed at the library, but must get onto some of the others. On holidays from Sat for three weeks so may be able to catch up a bit then.

feijoafication said...

I've just finished reading the book and have posted my review on Facebook.

The first 200 pgs I found very 'Meh'. I enjoyed the final 88. Perhaps because I knew I was coming to the end of the book? ;)

But seriously, while I didn't hate the book, there is no way I'd agree with the quote from the Independent on Sunday' critic in the blurb - "Deserves to become a modern classic of children's writing".