Coraline

By Neil Gaiman

I review Neil Gaiman's Coraline in this book review.

THE SHORT

A novel of purely escapist proportions, Coraline finds its titular character stuck in an alternate world where the other mother plots to steal her soul. While one enjoys the other reality that Gaiman creates, and the imaginative turn that his story takes, one feels that it is more of a novella than a real novel, a set up to a far greater book. However, this is not the case, and one has to be resigned to the limited range of characters that Gaiman brings to the table. Despite the greater freedom that Gaiman has to develop his characters, over time the nagging voice of Coraline seems to take over the whole book. The escape from the other mother is far too simple, and the draggy ending tacked on at the end feels from a whole other book. The plot is, however, solid, and leads convincingly from one end to another. The threatening menace of the other mother is wonderfully fleshed out, making her a very real and very dangerous villain. All in all, Coraline is a good novel, but one that ultimately lets you down, failing to meet the expectations that you had formed of it from the beginning.

THE REVIEW

In this novel, the reader is made perfectly clear of Coraline's disposition and character, as one of a bored girl struggling against her parents who couldn't be bothered less. It's a well known trope in literature, like in Matilda. Anyway, Gaiman goes out of his way to set up her character, spending almost the first two chapters devoted to fleshing out the character of Coraline. However, it goes to the point that you feel sick of Coraline, and this doesn't stop as Gaiman continues to spend the whole book inside Coraline's head. Indeed, Gaiman succeeds all too well, as his girl protagonist, while being relatable, becomes annoying and naggy, complaining about everything. Instead of not developing his characters enough, Gaiman develops them too much, and his characters suffer as a result of this. However, Coraline does show some signs of development towards the end of the book, learning the value of bravery and realizing that ordinary life does have its own benefits.

The other mother, her antagonist, is a marvellous villain, unprecedented. Gaiman truly had an original idea when he thought of the demonic thing that posed as Coraline's other mother. The sad part is that we never get to know what the other mother truly is, whether she's a god-like thing, or a being from another dimension. One wishes that we could have known more about her, or that Gaiman had fleshed out her character more.

One of the major themes in Coraline is that of bravery. While it may unnoticeable to some, like it was to me the first time I read the book, the second time around there was distinct air of the theme of bravery. Gaiman even writes in a story about bravery into the book. Covered up by the writing, the theme doesn't really succeed that well, kind of like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the book Coraline is normally compared to. The nice thing is that the theme is layered under just enough writing to make it obvious, but also enough that it's not too obvious.

The plot of Coraline, is, as I have stated above, solid. It leads strongly from the beginning to the end, except for the hand thing I'll talk more about later. As it is, Gaiman builds a convincing plot, making us believe that it really could have happened like that. From the beginning, the part where Coraline explores around the house, to the middle, where Coraline is trapped in the other world, to the end, where Coraline traps the hand down the well, it all happens with a strong lead to the other.

The major flaw of the plot is mainly the ending part, where Coraline throws the hand down the well and keeps it there forever. This part seems tacked on, almost as if it came from another book. One feels that the closing of the door on the other world had to be the end, that even the closing the door was symbolic of the end of the book. However, Gaiman had to stretch the book on for a few more chapters, almost as if he knew the book was far too short. As such, the ending fails to live up to the generally rich storytelling that permeated the rest of the book, and you are left with a bad taste in your mouth.

All in all, Coraline is a genuinely great attempt at the escapist wonder that Lewis Carroll crafted in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking-Glass, but ultimately it feels unfinished, often blemished at parts. Gaiman certainly could have improved on it further, but unfortunately, he didn't.

Rating: 8.3/10
Advice: Perhaps it would be best if you revisited the Alice Adventures before reading this book. God knows that it can't hold a candle to those.

Maybe it's just me, or I just didn't feel that Coraline was Gaiman's best attempt at a story. Too much was left unexplained and it just didn't have that same ring of magic that the Alice Adventures did.

Next week: I tackle another Markus Zusak book in my book review of I Am The Messenger. When Ed Kennedy inadvertently stops a bank robbery, he starts receiving mysterious aces in the mail. And that's when he becomes the Messenger...Did Zusak manage to capture the magic from his literary phenomenon The Book Thief? Or did he bog down his book with too many things going on at the same time? Find out next week in my book review of I Am The Messenger!!!