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

Pure Fantasy

I rated this book a five but I should state that this book is targeted toward tweens or young teens. I believe there is too much murder and scary stuff for younger than that. As for older than that, this is a trip down the dark side of the rabbit hole. I enjoyed the book though and I am 68 years old. You have to suspend your disbelief no matter your age. The author is so talented and the narrator so perfect that I got a kick out of the book enjoying the fact that it is such a stretch of the imagination. I don't usually enjoy music during a reading but the playing of a variation of the Sherlock Holmes theme was perfect in this book and added to the fun. If you like fantasy then this is the book for you.

Unexpected gem - for adults too!

This audiobook starts off with a chorus of children welcoming the listener to Audible children's books. That was a shock - I didn't realize this was for kids! But I decided to give it a go anyways. I must congratulate myself for this decision. The book is wonderful, and Gaiman's narration makes it sweeter still.

The drama begins right from the start and never lets up. The characters are interesting and skillfully revealed. The premise and environment are imaginative and intriguing. In some ways, I found this book similar to _Labyrinth_ by Kate Moss, but more gripping and tightly woven. It also has elements from _The DaVinci Code_ and even the Harry Potter series. What a bubbling cauldron of tasty flavors!

Another winner from Gaiman

Nobody Owens is saved from murder when he is taken into the graveyard as a toddler. We watch him grow and explore his world. There is the creepy without being icky; the tingly feeling up and down your spine. The story, like all good ones, transports you. And as an adult, I loved it, but I could see that young adults would like it, too. The book was one I could not put down, and was then sorry it was over. I hope to hear more about Nobody Owens and his travels around the world. But then, I do enjoy the worlds that Mr. Gaiman shows us.

Mr. Gaiman's narration is wonderful. Its a charming book; don't miss it.

spellbinding

Pacing, writing, characters, all compelling. I would never have gotten this book if it were not on the best selling list and if it weren't cheaper than the others. Wow. Wow. A slight nod to Harry Potter, but not much. It goes different places, has a different but excellent storytelling tone.

Absolutely Charming

This short book is charming from start to finish. Neil Gaiman did a stellar job of narrating his story.

Adorable (in that “I see dead people” kind of way)

You don’t have to be familiar with the source material that serves as inspiration (Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book) to love Neil Gaiman’s charming collection of creepy bedtime stories. After several heavy listens, I was ready for something fun. We follow Bod (short for "Nobody"), a young boy, who, after his family is murdered, is raised by the denizens of a nearby graveyard until his late teens. The book is a series of self-contained short stories about Bod as he grows up and the different people he meets, both within the graveyard and beyond its rusty gates. He is given the ability to communicate with the dead (who provide many moments of levity throughout) and is given special access and powers within the graveyard itself. Ultimately, it’s a story about growing up and taking care of yourself, and it reminds us all that there is a huge world worth exploring. Gaiman himself skillfully narrates, adding an extra layer of charm and allowing him to fully convey the subtleties of his own words. I would definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a fun, light listen (with just a touch of the macabre).

An All-Time Favourite

This is the story of Nobody Owens, who as a baby, crawls out of his crib and make his way to the nearby graveyard one night, thereby narrowly escaping sure death while his parents and sister are murdered by the sinister Man Jack. The graveyard is ancient and abandoned, but is nonetheless teeming with 'life' (so to speak), since the ghosts of all those who were buried there throughout the centuries and millennia rise from their tombs and socialize with each other at night-time. Almost as soon as he arrives there, Baby Bod (short for Nobody) is adopted by the Owens, who in life never managed to have children of their own, and the couple positively dote on the boy. As the only live inhabitant of the cemetery, he is given the run of the place and soon befriends most of the spirits he comes across. Bod grows up to be a curious, smart, and thoughtful boy. When he meets a woman accused of witchcraft who has long been buried in an unmarked grave outside the consecrated grounds, he risks breaking the supreme rule of never crossing the graveyard gates to go pawn a treasure so he can get her a headstone bearing her name, and gets into a whole lot of trouble in the process. When he eventually convinces his caretakers to let him go to school, he confront the class bullies and terrorizes them into leaving their evil ways by using tricks he has learned from his graveyard companions.

I found it impossible not to like Bod, and was cheering him on throughout this wickedly fun and clever tale, filled with adventure and peopled with a cast of eccentrics and weirdos. This was my first Neil Gaiman book and my only problem with it was that it eventually had to end. Gaiman is a fantastic narrator, and I often heartily recommend this version even to people who don't normally listen to audiobooks. It's now part of my limited all-time favourites collection, and I already look forward to listening to it all over again.

Amazing!

Loved the book! Great story and easy to understand. My one problem was the music. Every once in a while music would play making it hard to hear the narrator but other than that it was incredible!

Much Better Than Expected

I wasn't so sure I was going to like this book as much as the others for some twisted reason of my own, but boy am I glad I decided to get it. Nobody "Bod" Owens' story is amazing and creepy and the author does a superb job of narrating his book.
I can't wait for more.

A YA Title for Particularly Twisted YAs

What made the experience of listening to The Graveyard Book the most enjoyable?

Hearing the material in the author's own voice. Nobody is more intimately familiar with the characters or the role each plays.

What other book might you compare The Graveyard Book to and why?

I don't read much, but this stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Tim Burton films like Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Humor thrives in the darkness.

Which character – as performed by Neil Gaiman – was your favorite?

The Poet. Only an Englishman can create and recite a more stereotypically rubbish English poet, and get away with it so convincingly.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely! By the mid-point in the story, I had a hard time prying myself away.

Any additional comments?

The epitaphs made me laugh out loud.