Throughout last month, I binged on Neil Gaiman's books, rereading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and diving head first into The Graveyard Book and Stardust. I think the best thing I learned from this month's binge is just how powerful storytelling can be. Of course, being a writer, I know how important stories are. But there are times in my own writing that I forget how magical and memorable it can be to get sucked into a book. I suppose that's what I'm hoping for my future readers someday.
Neil Gaiman reminded me of this in his 2009 Newberry Acceptance Speech, which was conveniently located at the end of my copy of The Graveyard Book. At the end of his speech he says, "we who make stories know that we will tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write." I think all of this is pretty great.
In this indulgent consumption of Gaiman's books, I discovered the importance of building worlds that feel real even when they are filled with fantasy. In The Ocean at the End of Lane, Gaiman explains, “I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” I understood this, maybe better than anything else because I grew up with books filled with fantasy and fiction and they felt more real to me than even the real world.
In this book, I fell madly in love with the protagonist, sure. But even deeper in love with the Hempstock ladies. I suppose it might have something to do with a childhood filled with magical women from both literature and film: Sally and Gillian Owens, the Sanderson sisters, even the creepy coven of high school girls from the movie The Craft. But I also think my undeniable affection for the Hempstock witches has everything to do with Gaiman's writing. Though shrouded in mystery, it is clear Gaiman knows everything there is to know about these ladies. And for good reason. A reason I wouldn't understand until I got to The Graveyard Book. (Plus the fact that there was a field full of kittens left me hooked). I can't wait to come back to this again for the third time, maybe a year from now or several more down the line. Because there's something amazing about reading a book after you've changed. And Gaiman reminds us that “nothing's ever the same," she said. "Be it a second later or a hundred years. It's always churning and roiling. And people change as much as oceans.”
I don't think there's enough I can say about the next book I read. The Graveyard Book for me is one of those books that will mark this time in my life and I'm so grateful for that. Just looking at the cover makes me think"leave no path untaken." And at this point in my life, that's so important. Also there's another Hempstock witch that appears in Nobody Owens' graveyard. Her name is Liza Hempstock and she's just as magical as the rest of Gaiman's clan. Sometimes fun, sometimes ridiculously creepy, this Hempstock helps Bod as he grows up with the other ghosts and ghouls within his home. In the end I learned that "wherever you go, you take yourself with you," and that meant everything.
The final book in my binge was Stardust. I read a gloriously old edition that was yellowed and smelled like aged dust (maybe even stardust). I must admit, I did see this movie before reading the book. And I love them both. Though the book is a lot darker than the witty, fun, and fantastical movie, that's just what happens when Neil Gaiman puts words on a page; the darkness seeps in.
The world of Faerie was beautiful and believable and exists because of all the stories Gaiman loved as a child. I felt a little bit nostalgic, picking out pieces of other worlds that I loved as a child and seeing them built beneath Faerie. And then there is Wall. There in the town of Wall, people give things up all the time to get other things. Dunstan Thorn gives up the love of his life for someone he once kissed. Tristan gives up his life in Wall to gain Victoria’s love. These oddities seem to be the most true. Gaiman consciously builds this into his world to break down his own walls and to build a bridge between Wall and Faerie, the book and the reader. I love that! Also, there is a girl named Daisy Hempstock who doesn't seem particularly magical in this book but her name enthralled me all the same. And in the end I recited a line from the book over and over as a sort of mantra: "You have to believe. Otherwise it will never happen." Thank you, Neil Gaiman for helping me remember things that I've forgotten, things as small as stardust and even as large as oceans. But I suppose that's what we hope for when reading a book. I think all of us hope to remember something we've forgotten, or to learn something new, or to reclaim some part of ourselves that we let slip away. Maybe I'm crazy. But that's what I hope for when I fall into a book. Because books will always be my home away from home. And my last book binge helped me remember that. For those of you who haven't read anything by Neil Gaiman, what are you waiting for? He combines fantasy, magic, and darkness for creepy tales you crave long after they're finished. And for those of you who already know how amazing this author is, what is you favorite Neil Gaiman story? I'd love to hear from all of you!
xoxo
K.K.