Failure Bread

Hey all.  I read last month that Neil Gaiman won a Newbery Medal for “The Graveyard Book,” which I haven’t yet read.  However, I have no doubt in my mind that it deserves that award and about six million others, because Neil Gaiman is a bona fide, full-time sockrocker.

From what I have gathered, “The Graveyard Book” centers around a kid named Nobody, whose parents are brutally knifed, who is raised by a werewolf, witch, and vampire.  Who can not get behind that concept?

If you have no idea who I’m talking about, run to your local bookstore now and start searching for Neil, cuz he will change your world Grimms-Brothers-style.  And as if being the brainiac behind a slew of best-selling novels and comics books weren’t enough, he also has been branching out into movies in the past few years.  Among his most badass creations were ‘Mirrormask’ (which was pretty much heaven for anyone who grew up watching ‘Laybrinth’ and ‘The Dark Crystal’), ‘Stardust’ (pretty much heaven for any girl whose first crush was Westley or Inigo*), and this year’s ‘Coraline’ (heaven for anyone who loves old-fashioned fairy tales and deplores the idiocy of today’s cartoons).

The great thing about Neil Gaiman is that no matter which format you prefer, be it movies, novels, short stories, or comic books, you will be blown away by his inherent coolness.  The stories he tells are old tales;** a child spirited away, a man trying to find his roots, a young upstart on an epic adventure.  He borrows liberally from myth, legend, and folklore, too, and yet when you get involved in his work, you see that his storytelling is unique and the way he’s chosen to portray these archetypal concepts is original and new.

His written works are fantastic and epic, but very readable.  His prose is otherworldly and organic at the same time, proving that just because your subject matter is “deep” doesn’t mean your writing has to be boring or pretentious.***

I could rave all day, but I could also be a good citizen and an intellectual mentor and suggest that you find out how super-right I am by reading or watching for yourself.  Go rent ‘Stardust,’ or read the book.  Get ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ or ’American Gods’ from the library.  Take two hours out of your life to read ‘Coraline’ or watch the movie (it really doesn’t matter which, they’re both really good).

Do it now!  You will not regret it.

*As in Montoya, as in, “You killed my father, prepare to die.  Bitch.”

**I will give you a shiny nickel if you know why Coraline carries a stone with a hole in it.

***(Cough cough) I am talking about you, Gregory Maguire (cough cough).

Trackback URI | Comments RSS