The Graveyard Book

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Here's a fantastic ghost adventure story, laced with menace and humour.

When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard?

Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family.

A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man?

©2008 Neil Gaiman (P)2008 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Thrilling, elegant and joyously macabre. You will love it to death." (Holly Black, author of The Spiderwick Chronicles)

wonderfull

i absolutely loved it! one of my favorite authors and this was just lovely! fave book

Fantastic story

Of the many books we have listened to as a family with preteen children this would be in my top 3. It helps that Neil Gaiman has an incredible voice, I enjoy books read by the author, then tend to have more feeling.

Just awesome!

Loved the story, loved the performance of Neil Gaiman. Beautiful English for me as a not native speaker. Thank you!

Graphic Storytelling

This is a very enjoyable plot despite being set in such a dark location. All facits of our nature are explored as the young 'Bod' grows and explores not only his suroundings but his own character. Trying to find his rightful place in such an unusual environment with strange (deceased) characters as his guides, 'Bod' is fleshed out by the colourful and graphic writing style used by this author. The audio is good and Neil Gaiman brings you into the story with his easy reading style.

Fun for the whole family

If you could sum up The Graveyard Book in three words, what would they be?

Moving, Haunting, funny

What did you like best about this story?

Narrated magnificently by the author who you feel truly lives in his characters. Its a book with all the elements - mystery, humour, fun. Its about growing up and friends and loyalty.

Have you listened to any of Neil Gaiman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but now am searching for everything he has written and narrated

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Wanted dead or alive....or is that alive or dead?

Any additional comments?

please please do yourself a favour and listen to this book. we listened with our 10 and 12 year old and we all LOVED it.

Neil Gaiman - Writer and Storyteller

Those of who frequent Audible, know full well the importance of a good reader. A clunky performance can ruin a terrific book, while a great one can bring a whole cast of characters to life. I know that I myself have selected books solely based on who the narrator was (Simon Vance, look him up). So it’s obvious why writers aren’t often selected to read their own work. Because they write! They’re not performers, and most aren’t expected to be. If you put so much effort into writing an enthralling story, you don’t want to have the whole thing ruined simply because you didn’t take elocution lessons as a child.

Thus my raised eyebrow at the fact Mr. Gaiman chose to tell his own tale. Was it a marketing gimmick? Was it a writers’ ego getting in the way of his good sense?

The truth is simply this. Neil Gaiman is a storyteller.

It is such a treat to hear a writer read the story in the way that it obviously plays out in his own dark and brilliant mind. To hear the voices of the characters they way he wants you to hear them. Gaiman’s pacing is great and his tone is deep, eerie and strangely comforting. If fact it suits the story perfectly.

I have never read the Jungle Book, so I don’t know how much of Bod’s journey mimics Mowgli’s or how much Gaiman channels Kipling. But I can tell you it is an amazing story in its own right, the sort of mysterious and scary story that I wanted to have when I was a child.

This is a rare opportunity audiobook fans; to hear a tale from the creators own lips and actually enjoy it.

My new favorite book

Wow. Words elude me. Wow. Brilliant. One of those that will have to be listened to again and again. There is too much to take in in one sitting.

Worth every penny!

Where does The Graveyard Book rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the book that made me renew my membership with Audible!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Graveyard Book?

It's a slightly dark tale of a baby who grows up with quite a different life than the one most children get. After all - he is growing up in a graveyard with corpses as his parents and a vampire as his guardian. Who are the men Jack? And why are they so eager to kill the boy? This book takes many twists and turns, and although slow moving at the start, is an entertaining tale with a good overall plot. Neil Gaiman's voice is perfect for narration, and I loved that he is the author of the book as well.

Which scene was your favorite?

All of them

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Beautiful book, beautifully written and beautifully read.

A beautiful and absolutely captivating book, made all the more enjoyable by the performance by Neil Gaiman. There is something truly wonderful about hearing the words from the author himself, it brings another level to the story as you are able to hear it just as it was intended to be when it was written.
I will miss Bod and the inhabitants of the Graveyard enormously, and have no doubt I'll be relistening to or rereading this book at some point.

Dark humour and unexpected events...

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy the style of Mr Gaiman. He's humour hit's the spot for me. It's a wee bit on the dark side and that's the way I like it.
The story was also a jewel of storytelling and the characters interesting.
All in all a very good book.