A few moons ago, I did a piece on what fantasy fiction to read after Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, for which I was in turns praised and criticised. I took the help of my friend Jayaprakash, someone who's read more fantasy (and other genres) than anyone else I know. He'd then recommended three books/series I hadn't read, one of them being Coraline, by Neil Gaiman.
I managed to track down Coraline while in Bangalore. At a little over a 160 pages, this is a slim novel about a young girl (Coraline), who, while exploring her new house, discovers a passage leading into another world. A world where her 'other mother' and 'other father' want to trap her and never let her go. How and if she managed to come back is what the tale is all about.
Coraline has received many awards in the 4 years since it was first published. And it's easy to see why, for the book breaks new ground and steers clear of your typical fantasy set-pieces and settings. Philip Pullman, of His Dark Materials fame said in his review,
Gaiman is too intelligent and subtle to invoke the supernatural - this is much more mysterious than that - and too wise to let Coraline face the horrors alone: she has an ally in a sardonic and very feline cat.Ah yes, the cat. That did it for me. The black cat, reviled and used as an evil conceit in literature for long, is one of the good guys in this tale. That alone deserves a thumbs up!
A few hours after finishing the book, the partner and I watched Stardust, at the friendly neighbourhood theatre. Another one of Gaiman's creations, it has all the ingredients of a good, children's movie. I say children's movie, but it's perfect for adults as well. Even the bad parts are good, if you know what I mean. Since I'm feeling too lazy to write more, I'll point you to a Roger Ebert review. He's critical of the film, but since he is a bleeding critic that's okay.
3 comments:
Hey Kundz, glad you enjoyed Coraline.
I like his short stories better than his novels by and large - I think he's able to balance between that frisson of the uncanny and a certain innate sunniness of character better in a short format. I'd suggest his recent short story collection, Smoke And Mirrors, as a good follow-up.
hey jp, thanks for pointing me to his short stories. will pick up something after my 10 metre tall reading list is complete, which i expect will take a few more months, or a few years : )
Did you see Coraline, the movie? zimply zuperb.
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