Book Review - Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Book: Coraline
Author(s): Neil Gaiman
Read: March 2011
**All reviews I write may contain spoilers, read at your own discretion**

Coraline was a book that Gaiman began writing for his 5-year-old daughter. It began as a short story and after time escalated to becoming a short novel. Although the entire story carries an inherent creepiness to it, I expected a little more from him. This was the first book I read on my Kobo e-book reader and I was excited both by the story and the gadget. I read it all in one go, taking maybe two and a half hours. The beginning seemed a little slow, but it picked up as the pages passed. Gaiman does a wonderful job of setting up the characters and the atmosphere. When considering the target audience, it seems to have that little more that I expected. I found the use of the beldam both as a comfort (in the beginning where she is giving Coraline the attention that she is deprived of) as well as a point of incongruence (something is very obviously off about her from the very beginning).
I had seen the movies some years ago and found it to be somewhat creepier (maybe due to the visual effects), but not as well put together as the book. I found it strange that Wyborn was not a character from the original book and a little disappointing that the fairy child was replaced in the movie by another child. The cat had a more prominent role in the book (which I appreciated) taking on his and Wyborn's role in the movie as Coraline's friend, protector and guide. Although her parents grow on you in the movie, they seem to be colder and more displaced in the book, never quite giving you the feeling that they truly care about their daughter. This is distressful because it leaves you in the quandary of which is worse, being alone or being lost? Yet, there are moments where you realize that her parents are just jaded and lost in the world of adulthood.
It was an interesting read and I am excited to expand my Neil Gaiman internal library. Maybe I'll finally finish Good Omens and put that up.