I happened upon writer Neil Gaiman through an odd path, considering how much he’s written. As a long-time Douglas Adams fan, I ran across Gaiman’s book on Adams, Don’t Panic: Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and then later heard his name at a reading by writer Terry Pratchet. Both writers, Pratchet and Adams, were enough of a recommendation that I knew that this Gaiman fellow was someone I needed to look up. The Graveyard Book is Gaiman’s second young adult novel, but trust me when I say that there’s a good chance parents are going to be “borrowing” this one from their kids after bedtime. Because Bod, the main character, is raised in a graveyard by ghosts who have obviously already lived and died, he has no fear of death. As a result, he’s really not afraid of anything. It got me thinking how much our fear of death tempers most of the fears we carry around. And Gaiman’s trick here is that while Bod was raised in the home of the dead, he was still very much alive; I recognized characteristics of my own nephews in this young boy.
And, from a producer’s point of view, it’s not often I have someone on the show who’s voice is so perfectly tuned for listening. Enjoy!
Here’s a link to Neil Gaiman’s blog.
As usual, I listened to your weekend podcast on my hour’s walk this morning and loved the interview with Neil Gaiman. Everyone in our family has read "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy" series and are Douglas Adams fans, so that was another connection. I’m planning to buy and download Mr. Gaiman’s, "The Graveyard Book," for my 11 year old grandson, my daughter and I to listen to during our trip to Charleston next month. Thanks for your wonderful broadcasts. We still miss you every morning on NPR.