The Graveyard Book

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

The original audiobook edition of the acclaimed novel, read by the author!

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel ever to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal.

Nobody Owens is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place - he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings - such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is the winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award for best novel, the Locus Award for Young Adult novel, the American Bookseller Association's "Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book", a Horn Book Honor, and Audio Book of the Year.

©2008 Neil Gaiman (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, Best Novel, 2009
• Newbery Medal winner, 2009

wonderful

I loved it, a wonderful story to listen to and Neil Gaiman has such a soothing voice.

Beautiful story.

I love this book when I read it a few years ago in paperback and I loved it even more hearing it read by Neil Gaiman. Highly recommend this book.

Reasons to Love the Dark

Neil Gaiman is a master storyteller, and his books usually involve some darker element or theme. This one, which takes place in a graveyard and opens with a triple murder, is one of the sweetest. Readers come to love Bod, to recognize that our names are not always the ones we are born with, and that there is often great light in very dark places.
A tender and compelling story for older kids and adults. Loved it all, from start to finish.

Fantastic story

I love Neil Gaiman's storytelling. Voice and all, I think he is splendid! His stories are always entertaining. They remind me of the books I used to read when I was a kid.

Loved it!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Graveyard Book to be better than the print version?

Most likely. I haven't read this particular book in print, but having read some of Neil Gaiman's other books, i much prefer to hear him narrate them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bod. I enjoyed how he matured in a realistic way as the story progressed.

What about Neil Gaiman’s performance did you like?

Neil Gaiman doesn't do voices. Yes, he changes his narration enough so that you can catch which character is speaking, but it's not the over the top change that some narraters fall back on. I find it more engaging and less distracting.

Phenomenal story

My wife and I listened to this whole traveling and were a little disappointed every time we had to end our listening session to stop or shop. Really engaging narrator and story from beginning to end. I hope we hear more of Bod's story in a future tale..

Outstanding

As author and narrator, Mr. Gaiman does an outstanding job. This is the second book of his that I have listened to and he has become one of my favorite authors.

Dazzling Audio Drama

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

My favorite audiobook of the 171 so far
Neil's word smithing is like J S Bach's music ... each word just right and essential. To add, change, or omit a word (or note) would diminish the whole. The story is unique and the writing hurls you along like a sailboat in a following sea. This certainly is not a children's book but a masterpiece.

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

I can't decide between Mr and Mrs Owens discovery of Bod or the entire cast joining to danse the Mac Abree.

What does Neil Gaiman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wrapping the production in Baroque Music played on lute, cello and viol DeGamba was a brilliant device. Different voices and accents keep everybody, even Nobody, straight w/o getting in the way.

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

Can you Danse the Mac Abree?

Any additional comments?

Don't Panic but the Graveyard experience depends so heavily on the listener's imagination that this might be as difficult to convert to the screen as the Hitchiker's Guide has proven to be.

A sweet, magical tale beautifully told

Gaiman's trademark creativity -- a delightful mixture of fantasy and myth, humor and pathos, and a little horror (but of the mildest sort) all read beautifully by the author. Such endearing characters! I thoroughly enjoyed the story and listened to it twice. The musical interludes were just right, too.

An awesome and fun ghost story!

I enjoyed the story of the whole way through. It has excellent narration and the story is a lot of fun. I highly recommend this little adventure!