Coraline

Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: fiction, young adult, fantasy
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2002
Pages: 162

Creeeeeeeeepy. That's the best way I know how to describe it. This is my first exposure to the work of Neil Gaiman (author of Stardust), and I must say, the man has a very twisted imagination. It's marketed as a young adult novel, and I suppose it would be a good book to give your children if you want them to come running to you late at night complaining of nightmares. Seriously, I'm glad I read this book in the middle of the day, and I'm a college student.

Coraline is the name of the story's protagonist, a young teenage girl who gets annoyed whenever someone mistakes her name for Caroline. She and her family have just moved into a home comprised of several flats (Gaiman is British, after all). It's summer vacation, and Coraline doesn't know what to do with herself, so she takes up exploring her new home and the grounds surrounding it.

Unfortunately, she finds nothing exciting until she comes across a locked door inside the house. Her mother assures her there is nothing to see behind the door---even shows her the wall that was put up there---but Coraline's tremendous curiosity leads her to look again when her parents are away. This time there is no wall, and beyond the door Coraline discovers a strange place indeed: a replica of the home she left behind, complete with "other parents"! At first it seems wonderful. Her other parents pay more attention to her, and she seems to have everything she wants. But Coralline quickly senses something sinister going on. And once she realizes that, her life is far from easy.

I liked this book because, for one thing, it engaged me. Young adult novels have a way of doing that. Once I got started, it was hard to put down. I've discovered that I usually enjoy unconventional fantasy. I'm not so much into the "sword and sorcery" stuff, but I like it when the author creates a truly unique world, such as in this book and also Everlost. My guess is this novel was based on a bad dream. The whole thing certainly feels like one.

My only complaint about the book is that there were a few places where Gaiman threw in things that seemed to serve no purpose other than to add to the creepiness of the story (I don't want to give too much away, but one example involved an abnormally large spider). They certainly did the trick---I shuddered several times---but I wonder how necessary they were. Maybe we can justify it by saying that the villain was deliberately trying to scare Coraline (again, I don't want to give too much away).

In all, though, I thought it was a heck of an enjoyable book. I'd recommend it to anybody. It's not just a kids' book. In fact, maybe I wouldn't recommend it to kids. If you'd like to give it a try, be warned: you may want to read it in broad daylight. And be sure to stay away from black buttons.