The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

Review by [Chimes]



Fantasy/Horror Novella by Neil Gaiman

Coraline can be compared to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, and has been on many occasions, as both contain the story of a girl who is (for lack of a better word) bored. Life gets less boring with a fantastical trip to another world, in this case another version of her world. But whether it is intended to have been real or just the dreamings of a very bored little girl is for us to speculate.

When I first looked at Coraline, I was under the impression that it was a children's story. It is intended for young readers (having won awards for being so...) but it doesn't seem like it is. I suppose when you're smaller you don't read too much into things, it's only when you're older that you see through the innocence and on to the creepy truth.

Yes, Coraline is creepy. But in an intriguing way. I want to read it again, not just because I am a Gaiman fanatic – as I have written in a previous review, I may be really biased. I want to see if I missed anything, or maybe even put my literary analysis hat on...

In way of characters, this story is fantastic. If I lived in a creepy old house, I would want Coraline's neighbours. It would be fascinating. Sure, it might not be realistic but in this case it doesn't have to be. If eccentric neighbours increase the desired atmosphere, which I feel they do in Coraline, use them. It's called playing on your strengths. (I really wanted to put a smiley face there but, to me, that seems patronising.)

Plotwise, it intrigues me. There are parts of the plot that could be a little more interesting and a little less cliché but the rest of it makes up for that. The 'Other Mother' in particular. She definitely made me shudder in fear a little bit. Maybe not because I was scared of her but more that she's unnerving. I know she's a character but she also seems to me like a major plot point in herself. Probably because she is...

I'm evidently not the only one enjoying the delights of Coraline as it has been made into a graphic novel, musical and a stop-animation film. I have only seen the latter of the three. I enjoyed it, even though they did create an entirely new character but he works with the story in this instance – this does not mean I would have liked to have seen him in the book – and the plot is altered to make the film longer, I presume. They changed the setting from the UK to the USA... I wasn't too keen on that but it didn't bother me too much. I lived through it.

Coraline does not look as she is described in the book, for example she goes from long brown hair to having short blue hair. Why? I don't know. But it does look cool, I'll give them that. This makes me seem like I don't like it, I do, I'm just very biased towards the book, it is definitely the version I prefer.

The best part of the film adaptation was definitely the soundtrack – this may or may not be because I have an obsession with soundtracks. It has a music box type feel to it, which I love. It also has a lot of small choral sections. It may, in fact, make me drool. I definitely intend to buy it but for now I have found it on youtube. Hooray, for the internet! I would highly recommend listening to the soundtrack even if you don't want to see the film.

All in all, I give the novella a 5 out of 5 and the film... 4, I would say. Go watch or read! Or maybe even listen.




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