Book Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Cover art illustrated by Dave McKean
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 201 pages (Lyra’s Books Hardcover edition)
Word Count: 31,000 words
Published: 2nd July 2002 by Harper Collins
Coraline is the best book by Neil Gaiman that I’ve read. And maybe, all this time, I might have picked the wrong Neil Gaiman books to read.
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
Right after the opening line, I was compelled to read the entirety of Coraline in one day. And this is honestly one of the biggest surprises for me, even though it shouldn’t be the case. But to give a bit of context here. I have read only two books by Neil Gaiman, they are Neverwhere and Norse Mythology. I did not dislike them. I actually enjoyed them. But I did not fall in love with the two books. Neil Gaiman is one of the most popular authors in the world. And yet, the last time I read a book by Neil Gaiman was almost seven years ago when I read Norse Mythology in April 2017. For the past seven years, I never ventured to read more of Gaiman’s books despite having enjoyed many TV adaptations of his works such as Good Omens, Sandman, and of course, Coraline. Coraline being my favorite of them all. For whatever reason, I never sought to try to read Coraline until, thankfully, I received a luxurious gift out of nowhere from a friend who sent me the Lyra’s Books edition of Coraline. And here I am. Reading Coraline using that spectacular Lyra edition was genuinely wonderful, and I am happy to have read the original text of one of my favorite animated movies.
“Because,’ she said, ‘when you’re scared but you still do it anyway, that’s brave.”
I cannot accurately recall when I first watched the movie Coraline. If I remember correctly, it was in university, and it took me by surprise in every good possible way. An animated movie I thought was designated for kids or teenagers turned out to be an incredible horror movie with a lasting atmosphere and impact. I remember being creeped out by it, and I don’t get scared easily watching a movie. I couldn’t look at buttons the same way for a while after watching Coraline. And these horror elements were originated in the novella. Yes, it is a novella. I didn’t even know Coraline was a novella until I read the book recently. However, on top of delivering palpable horror elements, I was surprised by how deep the messages this little novella that you can read in about two or three hours contains. Although the middle grade or young adults are the priority target market, I believe Coraline is the type of story that can be enjoyed by everyone of any age. And everyone can benefit or learn something from it. To use one example, take a look at this passage:
“I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted just like that, and it didn’t mean anything? What then?”
This passage clicked with me. Life as an adult is more challenging than my life when I was a teenager. And sometimes, when life gets too hard, I do sometimes wish for an easier life or to have everything I want or need delivered to me with ease. But as Coraline, a kid wiser than her age, said, and many other texts with comparable nature, anything that is too much is never good, and wishes or success fulfilled through unbelievable shortcuts might not lead to lasting or great things in the long run. Coraline was a likable main character. Her interaction with her parents, neighbors, and all the characters she encountered was written efficiently and effectively. Gaiman showcased how well-placed and relatively brief sentences can succeed at making readers care about the character and story in a novella quickly. And moving forward, it will be easy for me to recommend Coraline to practically everyone.
“Now you people have names. That’s because you don’t know who you are. We know who we are, so we don’t need names.”
Admittedly, as I said at the beginning of this review, my first-time reading experience of Coraline is enhanced through reading the book using the insanely well-produced Lyra’s Books edition of Coraline. And it is not polite for me to end this review without dedicating at least a paragraph to this stunning “standard” edition. Signed by the artist, the terrific Rovina Cai, and printed letterpress on 148gsm Mohawk Superfine paper by Phil Abel and Robert Hetherington of Hand and Eye Letterpress, the Lyra’s Books edition of Coraline showcased what a magnificent book production should look like. Not only printed with black ink throughout with red on many pages, this novella is embedded with 16 elevatingly beautiful fully-colored plates—including the frontispiece—and 30 black and red letterpress silhouettes. Some might even say this book production is overkill for a novella. But this is an example of how devoted Lyra’s Books is toward the craft of bookbinding. They didn’t have to go this hard for the edition of Coraline, but all-out and beyond is what they gave. The letterpress printing, the sewn-binding, thick acid-free paper, and tons of meticulously drawn artworks undoubtedly improved my reading experience as it made turning the pages of the physical book more addictive. I was already immersed in Gaiman’s prose, but I was also eager to see how each interior illustration would complement the text. I do not think I could envision a better first reading experience of Coraline than this for me, and I want to say thank you so much once again to my unnamed friend who bestowed me with this gift.
Picture: A few interior illustrations of Coraline Lyra’s Books Edition by Rovina Cai
To end this review, I will conclude by saying Coraline has successfully entered my list of favorite novellas. And considering how delighted I was by this little book, I do not think this will be the last time I read a book written by Neil Gaiman. The Graveyard Book is next on my list. I think I will also read Sandman, American Gods, and Good Omens—a book he wrote together with the late and legendary Terry Pratchett. But until then, let me convey that Coraline is one of the most pleasant surprises of my reading journey. It is dark, beautiful, and whimsical. I highly recommend this to every reader of any age who wants to experience a splendid and profound narrative in a relatively shorter format filled with inspiring messages.
“The names are the first things to go, after the breath has gone, and the beating of the heart. We keep our memories longer than our names.”
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