Tag Archives: Neil Gaiman

Alrighty then, post numero dos in Jenn’s readalong of The Graveyard Book! (Sorry this is a day late guys, past couple days have been CRAZY busy.)

Soooo, where did we last leave our intrepid hero?

Well, Silas decides he has to take a field trip to someplace to get some sort of information, and Bod has a rare very living-child-like tantrum about it. He whines and is all upset, and Silas leaves him in the care of a stern lady named Mrs. Lupescu who does all sorts of horrible things like try to teach him stuff and feed him nutritious food instead of the processed junk he’s been eating his whole life. Anyways, Bod is all upset and ends up deciding to go with 2 super creepy little men-thingys that end up being ghouls, and ghouls suck. And they wanna make him a ghoul too, and we don’t even wanna know what kind of horrible process that would be, and Bod is able to kind of save himself by calling for help in a weird supernatural language – and guess who taught him that? Mrs. Lupescu! Who also happens to be the one to come save his ass in her werewolf-form. Yay! And they bond, and Silas comes back, and everyone’s hunky-dory. Then Bod acts afool again by going to the part of the graveyard that’s unconsecrated and befriending the ghost of a witch named Liza and he wants to do something nice for her, like get her a headstone. He goes back to the super-creepy-crypt and steals a brooch and then he ACTUALLY SNEAKS OUT OF THE GRAVEYARD and goes to a pawnshop to sell it and get enough dough to buy her a headstone. And the pawnshop owner is a jerk named Abanazer Bolger who figures out that Bod is some weird creepy kid with no parents near by, so he locks him in the backroom to find out where the brooch came from so he can go and get more treasure, and he also considers calling this weird guy named Jack who happened to be looking for a strange boy… and then Liza shows up and helps Bod do some Fading-thingy and he’s able to escape. He goes back to the graveyard, gets lectured, and is able to give Liza her headstone – awww.

Wow, that was a long recap… and probably unnecessary. Oh well. Onward to some discussion questions!

1. What do you think Silas left to find out and of his bringing a present back for Bod?

I have NO CLUE what Silas left to go do… Maybe it was to try to find out more about Stabby Jack? Although why would he do that after this long? No clue. And awww that he brought Bod a present. That’s such a human thing to do, bring back a souvenir for someone.
2. Do you that that Miss Lupescu is hard on Bod or in comparison that the others are too soft?

I think the others are too soft. It’s probably part of that whole we’re-dead-anyways-so-screw-it thing, but the ghosts in the graveyard should at least remember that it’s not good for a kid to be raised on nothing but convenience store junk food! And of course he could and should be learning more than he does just from them.
3. Do you find anything fascinating about the ghouls? What did you like most about the whole adventure?

The ghouls were weird. I didn’t know what to think about them, but they sounded creepy as all hell. I don’t get the whole naming-ourselves-as-famous-important-people deal, or what they really get out of turning a kid into a ghoul, or anything like that. I did however like that the whole thing kind of made Bod stop being such a little creep and appreciate Mrs. Lupescu. And YAY her for being an big scary werewolf / Hound of God.

4. Did those scenes alter your opinion of Miss Lupescu?

Well I kind of already liked her, so this just cemented my approval of her.

5. Do you think that Bod was disobeying when he went to the Potter’s field?

Yes. Cause you know, everyone said “Hey! Don’t go near there!” which meant that of course he had to go there and get into mischief. It’s not really clear why they’re all so wary of it though. Just because it’s unconsecrated ground? Or because there’s criminals buried there? Or because the graveyard people are jealous that the ones buried there have more freedom to move about?

This part is where I’ve found my favorite quote of the book so far, from Silas of course:

“Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.”

6. What do you think of the Liza being a witch or the way that she was killed?

I think good for her! She obviously got really screwed over there. There’s so many stories of women who were screwed over by men they were romantically involved with, and got burned as witches. Of course in this case she actually was, but good! I’m glad she was able to you know, exact her revenge. I’m so glad I wasn’t alive back then, things really sucked for women.

7. Do you think Bod’s new found ability to Fade will change his fate?

I didn’t quite realize that she permanently helped him with his Fading… I thought that was a one-time only kind of deal. Although now I just went to kind of re-read that section, and I guess he does imply that he thinks he can Fade now, so… cool? I think it’ll definitely help him out a lot, since he’s hiding from Stabby Jack, not that he exactly knows that.

8. How do you feel about the headstone that Bod made for Liza, and what he wrote on it?

It just made me go “Awwwww you’re a good kid.” If I was there I probably would’ve ruffled his hair a bit.

OK so that’s my long-winded post! I’m thinking I may go ahead and read the next chapters today, because I’ll be busy the rest of the week doing anniversary stuff and spending time with the honeyman

~Sarah

Yay, week 1 of The Graveyard Book readalong hosted by Jenn!

Oooo I love the writing in this book so far! Maybe THIS is the kind of Gaiman I can really get on board with, the children’s kind! Of course, it’s not very kid-friendly, since it starts with some super creepy murders by a creepy man named Jack, but still. I also love the wispy drawings in the beginnings of the chapters.

So, for some unknown reason this scary man named Jack is in a house being all stabby-stabby and the last one he’s after is a little boy, basically a toddler. But this particular toddler is like a ninja at just wandering around and, lucky duck, he wanders out of the house and into a graveyard just as Stabby Jack is one his way to get him. Once said baby boy gets to the graveyard he starts cuddling up to some nice old ghosts named Mr. & Mrs. Owens and then the ghosts of the baby ghosts parents show up and are all “Please watch our baby!” before they disappear. And the baby boy grows up a bit and meets a human girl and they become friends and then her parents whisk her away to Scotland.

So, now little Nobody is going to be raised in the graveyard by the Owens’ and a cool guy named Silas who I’m not 100% sure, but I think he’s a vampire.

And now for the sake of not rambling on forever, Jenn’s discussion questions:

What were your initial first impressions of the characters?
Jack is hella creepy, the baby is cute, and I like Silas. The Owens seem kind of not-bright, but sweet. And I liked Scarlett.
How did the ghost of Bod’s mother make you feel?
Sad, obvs. I mean, poor woman.
Do you think that Nobody is a good name for a boy?
No. See, this is what I meant about the Owens.
What are your thoughts on Silas and the woman on the grey horse?
I really dig Silas, and there seems to be some mystery surrounding him and I’m totally guessing it’s that he’s a vampire. I like that he’s pushing reading. The woman on the grey horse… that was weird.
Do you think it’s a good thing that Bod has Freedom of the Graveyard and thus other powers?
Yeah, especially since he might still be in danger. But come on, powers are almost always a good thing.
Do you think it’s okay to let a child play in a graveyard like Scarlett’s parents did?
Nope, only weirdos just hang out in a graveyard. But her parents also seemed more interested in their work than they were in her, so maybe that’s why they were all chill about it.
Why do you think Scarlett’s parents are so eager to claim imaginary friends?
Cause otherwise you just assume your kid is crazy… and then when they don’t grow out of it, you realize your kid probably really is crazy. I think it’s a natural response for them though.
Did the semantics of the Tattoo Man seem obvious to you or was it a bit frightening?
No… I have no idea what the hell that was all about. When the kids figured it out, I was like “Good for you!” because I probably would have just run like the idiot that fell and died there.
What do you think were Scarlett’s parents real motivations in moving the family to Scotland?
To get her the heck away from that graveyard, since that’s where her imaginary friend was and where they thought she was almost kidnapped. I can’t say I blame them. Plus, I’d love to go to Scotland.

I’m a little sad to have to wait to read the next 2 chapters! I want to see Bod grow up a little more, and I want to know why Stabby Jack was after that family, and I want to know is Silas is really a vampire or if I’m just horribly wrong.

Fun!

~Sarah