Want to learn about one of Neil Gaiman's wonderful books? In this article, we'll tell you about The Graveyard Book.
The cemetery book
The Cemetery Book is a children's novel published in 2009, it tells the story of a curious boy who, after being orphaned, grows up in a cemetery, raised by ghosts and supernatural creatures who teach him skills, protect him and help him in his adventures through the various parallel worlds that he discovers himself.
Neil Gaiman, author of this novel, who gave it a mixture of humor and terror, claimed to have been inspired by Ruyard Kipling's "Jungle Book".
The great originality of this work has caught the attention of many and was even brought to the big screen by the director of "Coraline", Henry Selick in 2012. This novel has won awards such as the Newberry Medal in 2009 to the best young adult novel, it was also the winner of the Hugo Award for best novel in that same year.
It should not be forgotten that, in the same year, it also won the Locus Award for best young adult novel and in 2010 it won the Carnegie Medal. It has undoubtedly been one of the most memorable novels for young people since it contains that variety of categories which makes it irresistible, capable of filling us with emotions, teachings and surprises.
Although it is aimed especially at young people, it is a book that anyone can enjoy without the need for them to be lovers of the horror or fantasy genre, since the content of the book engages from the beginning due to its outstanding features of comedy, tenderness, action and many others that surprise us.
Neil Gaiman is indisputably an author that anyone likes since his light way of writing transports us in an impressive way. The handling of the characters and the setting is the story makes you want more and more of it since it is easy to imagine them for their pleasant description.
Are you interested in reading a summary of another book similar to The Cemetery Book? We invite you to visit the following article: The Goldfinch: A Literary Review!
Summary
The Cemetery Book is a work by Neil Gaiman that introduces us to the beginning of the life of a boy who runs away from home one night because a murderer has killed his family. The baby crawls up a hill near a cemetery in search of safety, when he gets there he meets ghosts who without hesitation protect the child from the murderer.
The ghosts realize that he has been orphaned and decide to discuss what they will do with him. One of the ghosts who is willing to take care of him is Mrs. Owens along with her husband Mr. Owens.
With the permission of the Gray Lady (this character alludes to death) they make the decision to adopt him a fact. That said, they grant him to be an "honorary member of the cemetery" which gives him powers within it, such as; see ghosts, be able to talk to them, see in the dark and pass through any type of solid object, such as tombstones and doors.
His parents call him Nobody Owens because the ghosts allege that "he doesn't look like anyone but himself" they later nickname him Nad.
Bod meets his future teacher, Silias, the guardian of the cemetery, an undead creature, but he does not claim to be alive either, he is the one who drives the murderer away and offers himself as a guardian. During the boy's childhood, Silias teaches him the essentials of life and they become very close.
As time passes, Bod grows up and along with his curiosity, during his growth, he spends his time investigating and discovering the cemetery where he finds parallel universes, new friends, treasures and hidden tombs. Even in his childhood, he meets a mortal named Scarlett Perkins and they become inseparable.
Scarlett thinks that Nad is just an imaginary friend thanks to her mother's insistence on convincing her that he is. Scarllet accompanies Nad on his adventures, which is when they discover a creature called Sleer who says he has been waiting for his "Master" for years, and he has to go and claim him in order to fulfill his duty to protect him and in turn "protect the world from his enemies". treasures”.
In this adventure Scarllet does not return home so the family worries and when Scarllet appears they decide to move to Scotland, which results in separating from Nad against their will. After this, Nad is kidnapped by the Ghouls and rescued by his guardian Miss Lepescu, a lycanthrope, or as she says "the hound of God", who helps Silias to take care of Nad when he is absent.
Later, he meets Liza Hempstock, a woman who was unjustly murdered, who was drowned for believing she was a witch; She confides in him knowing that she feels sad because she has never had a burial or tombstone worthy of her. Later, on one of Nad's adventures, she helps her new friend get a decent tombstone for her, which makes her bond with the boy and be grateful to him.
When Nad is old enough to go to school, his parents let him out for the first time; Bod starts having many adventures in and out of the graveyard, where he continually gets into trouble. Thanks to his parents and his guardians, Bod learns new abilities such as becoming invisible, having the power to make people uncomfortable and being able to get into dreams.
One day Nad learns of the existence of the "Jack Men" (which are an organization of assassins) and their history which causes great concern when it is revealed that fifteen years ago they had been commissioned to eliminate him and his family by a prediction. that a child would finish them off.
While Bod thinks about how to escape from his murderer, already living in the cemetery for 14 years, he meets up with Scarllet who, after her parents' divorce, her mother decided to return to the city. Scarlett tells him that she has met a historian named Mr. Jay Frost and indicates that she lives in a house not far from the cemetery.
Together they start an investigation into the murder of Nad's family and in the process they realize that the historian lives where the family was murdered (the Dorians). Nad visits the house hoping that he will give her answers about what happened.
Next, Mr. Jay Frost leads him to the room where he lived as a child and that is when this character reveals himself by his real name Jack Frost, Bod realizes that he is the Jack Man and tries to run away from him. Jack Frost along with the members of the clan chase Nad and Scarllet who escape with luck out of the cemetery where Nad manages to finish off 4 of the Jack Men who were chasing him but still cannot stop Jack Frost.
Jack Frost then escapes with Scarlett whom he kidnapped and holds her captive in the Sleer's chamber. It's not long before Bod tricks Jack Frost into claiming himself master of the Sleer, himself, hugs Jack and they disappear through a wall.
Afterwards, Silias returns and decides to tell Bod about working in the "honor guard dedicated to protecting the borders between worlds" together with Ms. Lepescu and other special beings. These have fought against the clan of Jack men for years.
Despite the fact that they manage to stop them, Miss Lepescu is unfortunately killed in the battle, which causes Silias and Nad great sadness.
A year has passed since the battle and Bod is turning 15 in the graveyard, which gradually causes him to lose some of his powers. Over time, Nad stops seeing the ghosts, so he begins to believe that his life in the cemetery is over.
Then Silias, in an act of continuing to protect him, gives him some money and a passport, then Bod packs his bags and drives to the cemetery gate where his mother, Mrs. Owens, is, whom he says goodbye to with great affection and also there is Liza Hempstock, to whom he says goodbye with an affectionate tone. Finally, Nobody Owens leaves the cemetery waiting for a life full of new adventures.
We hope you'll enjoy this article, but do you want to listen to The Graveyard Book while you're driving? Do not miss the opportunity to do it! We invite you to watch the next video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RtJWPA8f9o