Book Review: Coraline

25 Jul 2014

It's strange how Neil Gaiman can come up with wonderful stories. This time it's Coraline. Another fairytale and probably the creepiest stories I've ever read. I mean, it's marketed for kids. Good luck explaining all that to a child.

• Author: Neil Gaiman
• Published: 2005
• Age Group: Children

All the illusion about this being a children's book fades away in the first couple of chapters. Coraline lives in a huge house, converted in apartments. Coraline likes to explore the house. The yard. The inhabitants. Her exploring soon takes a darker turn, when she finds a door in her apartment that connects to the other, empty apartment on the same floor.

Coraline is obsessed with finding what is on the other side of this door. Eventually she does. Another house. With people having buttons for eyes. A woman who calls herself Coraline's other mother. There is a talking cat and dead kids who are trapped because their souls are missing. There is an army of singing mice and angry dogs.

I kept feeling a little uneasy while reading Coraline. Not because of the situations she is put in, but because how calm she is. Throughout all the strange things which would terrorize most adults, Coraline manages to keep cool. She knows what to do, she knows where to look. That is unnatural. It makes me wonder who would be crazy enough to read this to their kids.

All of this combined makes this a fascinating read. It's a small book. Just over a hundred pages. It's well paced and keeps you guessing. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I'm going to get hold of the movie and watch it now. Gaiman remains one of the best story-tellers that I know of.

Rating: 4/5