Coraline

Coraline


By: Neil Gaiman
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 16
Rating: Really liked it


“In Coraline's family's new flat are fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own. Only it's different. At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.”

Coraline is a charming, dark fairy tale. At first glance, it may seem like a simple, spooky, children’s tale, but it’s deeper than that, which sort of reels you in as you read. Like any good fairy tale, Coraline has a couple of morals, but they’re not as obvious as you might be used to. Gaiman encourages you to find the morals for yourself, rather than just stating the morals in the usual way. The main theme, as far as I could tell, was: the grass is always greener on the other side, until you’re on the other side and you start to long for the side you originally came from. Coraline initially believes that the other side of the door is just wonderful. Her parents are attentive, they cook good food, and things are much more exciting. However, Coraline’s other mother wants to replace her eyes with black buttons and keep her there forever. I suspect that the other side of the door is a metaphor for society, and the black buttons are a metaphor for conforming (which can cause you to lose yourself), but I tend to see metaphors where there are none (even in children’s literature), so feel free to ignore me, and blame it on my English teachers.

Coraline is creepy, without being scary enough to make me cower under my covers at night (like Pet Sematary did). Even though it’s a kids’ book, I didn’t feel as if I was reading way below my reading level. The narrator never talks down to the young audience, like some children’s authors tend to.

Since the book is short, there is no major character development, but all of the characters are charming, eccentric or creepy in their own special way, and Coraline is a strong, bright young heroine.

Coraline is a recommended read for horror/gothic readers of all ages, though some content may scare small children.


Recommended to:Horror/gothic fans of all ages. Might scare young children.