
Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
This is an excellent and very scary modern fairy tale by the
award-winning, English-American author of Stardust and American Gods.
Diana Wynne Jones compared it favorably to Alice in Wonderland, though
the story that came to my mind (for some reason) was James Thurber’s The
13 Clocks. Witty, macabre, full of original imagery and a face-paced
plot and a plucky heroine, this could really be the best book I’ve read
since Order of the Phoenix.
I am at an awful loss as to what to say about the story without ruining
the whole thing for you. Let’s say, for starters, that it really has
more in common with Alice’s Adventures Through the Looking Glass than in
Wonderland. It takes place in the present day, but it has elements of
classic fairy tale combined with a pinch of horror and a dash of
fantasy.
One cold, boring summer, Coraline Jones finds herself wishing for a
better deal than living with her inattentive parents in part of a house
that is divided into flats. Dividing their flat from the one next to it
is a door, opened by a cold black key, that only leads to a blank brick
wall. Sometimes. But sometimes, it leads to another flat just like
Coraline’s where another mother and father want Coraline to stay with
them. For various ghastly reasons, their offer isn’t very tempting. But
Coraline soon discovers that it will take an awful lot of courage, luck,
and cleverness to get back to the home and the family where she belongs.
Here’s a tantatlizing tid-bit that I hope the author will forgive me for
quoting...
“How do I know you’ll keep your word?” asked Coraline.
“I swear it,” said the other mother. “I swear it on my own mother’s
grave.”
“Does she have a grave?” asked Coraline.
“Oh yes,” said the other mother. “I put her in there myself. And when I
found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.”
Robbie Fischer
USA
Recommended Age: 12+
If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.
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