So this time I am writing about a book I just read, Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Coraline is the story of a little girl that has recently moved into an old house that has been split up into several different apartments. Downstairs are two old ladies you used to work on the stage. Upstairs is a strange man that is training a mouse circus. And next door is an empty apartment. In Coraline's apartment there is a parlor that her parents use to put their late grandma's fancy (and uncomfortable) furniture in. In that parlor Coraline finds a door that used to go into the rest of the house, but now just opens to a brick door. Later, Coraline wanders out to find that the door opens up into a replica of her own home, well almost. The replica seems better, more fun, but there is something . . . off about it. There she meets her Other Mother, a more beautiful version of her mother but with buttons for eyes. After that she embarks on an adventure to save her real parents, the souls of three lost children, and herself.
This book is short, you can read it in a single sitting (I read it in two sittings). I really liked it. I had seen the movie that was based off the book years ago and could remember a little bit of it and that I kind of liked it. I ended up finding the movie for really cheap and bought it. I loved the movie this time around. It has a very different feel to it. Some people have criticized the book and the movie as being a little bit too scary for kids. I disagree. I watched an interesting interview with Neil Gaiman where he talked about the reception of the book and the movie. He said that in England it's been a huge success and people have loved it. In America, he receives a little more criticism about it being too scary. He attributed it to a fundamental difference in culture, stating that in England there is a tradition of scarier fairy tales and things for kids. In his opinion, kids like to be a little scared, because it gives them the opportunity to reach and grab their parents hand and know they are there for them. I like that reasoning. The image of holding my future child during a slightly scary movie or story is something I look forward to. This is definitely a book that I would read to my child and then let them watch the movie. I really liked it. As for book versus movie. I actually think this is one of those rare occasions that the movie does it a little better. The book is rather short and if you translated everything from the book to the movie, it would only be 45 minutes long. So the movie adds a character, embellishes some of the scenes and adds a little to the story line. The one thing that the book does better is showing that Coraline is afraid, but decides to act anyway. That is the real moral of the book, that it's okay to be scared but don't let that stop you from acting. The movie still portrays this but since we don't have the internal thoughts of Coraline it isn't as apparent. My friend also made an interesting observation about the movie. In the movie, Coraline keeps going through the door, even though things don't seem quite right. My friend likened this to addiction, any kind of harmful addiction, how it seems to be good but it isn't and people keep going back despite the red flags. I thought that was interesting. One other thing that I love about the movie are the colors. They did an AMAZING job with the colors of the film. It is so vibrant and they use color to show emotion and other things. I loved it. Watch the movie, read the book. I don't think you'll regret it.
As always feel free to share your feelings with me. What do you think? Do you agree with me or disagree? Is this too scary a book for kids? Let me know in the comments!
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