Coraline

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 3 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only it's different...

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

©2002 Neil Gaiman (P)2002 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Children's Literature, 2003
• Hugo Award Winner, Best Novella, 2003
• Nebula Award Winner, Best Novella, 2003

"An electrifyingly creepy tale likely to haunt young readers for many moons." (Publishers Weekly)
"The story is odd, strange, even slightly bizarre, but kids will hang on every word...and they will love being frightened out of their shoes. This is just right for all those requests for a scary book." (School Library Journal)
"A magnificently creepy story...for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister, Coraline is spot on." (Kirkus Reviews)

I'll never outgrow this story

I loved the storyline. A lesson for all that the grass isn't always greener and all that jazz. Loved that Neil Gaiman narrated it. Loved the musical bits in between some chapters...it really suited the vibe of the story. My favorite character is the cat...Neil Gaiman captured the creatures personality perfectly. This is one of the very few books that I read/listened to after seeing the film version. Usually it's the other way around. Loved the film as well. The audio book is very short, only a few hours long. My only wish is that it was longer. Perfect little tale for all ages.

Dark & delightful

I loved it. I really enjoyed Neil Gaiman reading it. I can't imagine anyone could do better.

Good for all ages!

I got this audio book because my 4 year old boy loves listening to Neil Gaiman's "Wolves in the Walls" and enjoyed the movie, Coraline. We listened to the audiobook during our 'night-night drives.'

He immediately recognized the voice and was enthralled to listen, and has been asking if we have the real book for when he learns to read.

He's asking for more.

And, as always, I very much enjoy listening to Neil Gaiman reading his own books.

(Bonus: when my son and 1 year old daughter are tired, the narrator's voice - smooth and varied and oh-so British - puts them right to sleep.)

worth the money

I love this book so much and hearing Neil read it was even better. I highly recommend 👌

Lifelong Inspiration

I'll never forget the day I stumbled on this audiobook. Mom, a genealogist early in her journey, had gone to a library to look for things I had no shared interest in. I, an avid 13-year-old reader, was left to wander the dusty-musty stacks. Fine by me. I stopped by the CDs to browse for something to put in my Discman while I looked for something to read. I didn't even realize I'd reached the end of the music albums, when there it was.
I'd had my introduction to Gaiman's work with the Sandman comics, also found in libraries. I listened to the whole thing before I left the library that day, and checked it out to boot, so I could listen again.
And again.
That was almost 20 years ago now, and listening to it again at age 32 as my first purchase here on Audible, it's as fresh as ever. Hasn't aged a day. This is so relatable from every standpoint, and it has that Alice-in-Wonderland reality distortion I have loved all my life, with the foreboding darkness I'd come to seek out at that age. Nothing else has aged this well for me (aside from The Sandman; if some authors hit it out of the park more than once, then Neil Gaiman is Mr. 3000).
Might have some elements elementary-aged children would find scary. Parents, maybe give it a listen before you play it for the kids? It's a quickie, as these things go! It is very suitable for the tweens and up, though. Still gets 2 thumbs up from me in my 30s from over half my life ago, and I can honestly say my introduction to it was this same medium. I have never actually held a copy of the book in my hands. I may someday. But Gaiman's narration of his own work just doubles the immersion factor, and I can't imagine enjoying this any other way.
Bonus Discovery: I'd never heard of The Gothic Archies before this, even though I was very much a fan of the Magnetic Fields at the time. All-around gem in every way. 💎

Coralline

I enjoyed this book was that I enjoyed the movie. I think this would make good children's reading. Of course the moral is you never know what you have till you lose it

A great performance of a great book

I've loved reading and re-reading Coraline since I first read it soon after it was originally published, and this audiobook rendition is absolutely stellar. Neil Gaiman narrates his own novel, and his performance is pretty much perfect. Clear and easy to follow, yet expressive enough to make the book even more entertaining that the print version was. There's also a few decent musical pieces that are suitably creepy, albeit a little forgettable.

It was okay

This is one of my favorite books, and Gaiman is one of my favorite authors; however, I didn't care as much for the audiobook. Ocean At The End Of The Lane had an audiobook that was even better than the physical book somehow, but Coraline felt a bit dull. It would have been a thousand times better without the music. I was excited to hear that it had music at first, but it was too vague and odd for a story that already had the perfect amount of vagueness and oddness, and it was awkwardly placed. Other than that, Gaiman's narration was very good, even if it wasn't as outstanding as Ocean At The End Of The Lane.

Loved this

I absolutely loved this. It's odd and quirky and imagine and just different. Nice change of pace, fun to listen to, and I love Neil Gaiman's narration style.

Dark, delicious, and delightful

This is a propper modern grim fairytale for everyone. Coraline is one of the bravest children in literature. She is resilient and resourceful and far more clever than the world around her is prepared to deal with. I think Coraline and Matilda would be the best of friends. This story will disturb you at times and that is a very good thing. You will then be in tune with Coraline and the danger she finds herself in. Neil Gaiman reads his own words very well. I was transported. Well done all around.