Coraline

A very nice and detailed book, great read, not too different

I am a bit of a sucker for stationery; I have a tendency to buy lots of notebooks, and then never get around to using them, so imagine my delight when I saw that they had created a notebook with a Coraline theme (I am a massive Neil Gaiman fan). As soon as I saw this, I bought it. I am a little biased, but this is a gorgeous notebook/ journal. It is beautifully created, featuring a vibrant purple colour. The front cover has a key decoration, and the pages are lined. This is a really lovely product. Although I haven't quite decided what I am going to record in it yet, I am so glad that I found it.

Coraline was my first Neil Gaiman book and was such a joy to read. Neil Gaiman just has such a way with words and can spin a story that’s equally as enjoyable for adults and children. I’d describe it as a modern-day fairytale, but with all the dark, twisted things that the original Grimm’s fairytales had. It’s quite a short book (176 pages) but that meant there was none of the bloat that authors sometimes feel they need to include to hit a certain word count. Coraline as the narrator gives the book that innocent feel of seeing the world through the eyes of a child which is something that Gaiman does particularly well. I think this can be a bit hit and miss with other authors but certainly isn’t a problem here. The story is by no means complex but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable, and I’m glad this was my introduction to Neil Gaiman’s writing. Now that I’ve read Coraline I’m looking forward to reading more of his stories.

I'm already a fan of Neil Gaiman and have read some of his other works of adult fiction. I downloaded this Kindle version because I adore the film version and felt it was high time I read the book. As with all adaptations, the stop motion film varies slightly from the story in this book, however, I still found myself thoroughly engaged in Coraline Jones adventure through the door to the Other Place and even found my breath held in tension at times. I downloaded the audio version narrated by Neil Gaiman himself and found that it also differed from the book; I think it was "Americanised" as there were little word changes (flashlight said instead of the torch that was printed, distance was narrated in imperial instead of the metric that was printed, etc) and slight sentence restructures. Having said that, I loved the way Mr Gaiman read his story, the pace of his speech and his tonal inflections; his performance helped to immerse me in the adventure. Coraline is one of my favourite films, I watch it every Halloween and I am overjoyed to say that it's also one of my favourite books now too.

Wow. My pleasant surprise for this book was barely contained after I gobbled it up in two (albeit very busy) days. I admit I am a huge fan of the film and have watched it numerous times. There is actually more added to the film as the book is only around two hundred pages, however this did not disappoint me in the least. Coraline is jam packed full of various themes, beautifully haunting imagery, and colourful characters. It also had a frightful scene including the Other Father that I will unashamedly say scared me witless. Gaimans prose is also luscious and beautiful. This is the first and only book of his that I have read so far (The Graveyard Book is sitting patiently on my shelf) and was one of my best reads of the year. He speaks directly to you in third person but not down to you; he tells you stuff but not in a preachy way at all, we learn it along with Coraline, who would be an adventurer's dream to explore with! Coraline is a modern gothic fairtale with a refreshingly active protagonist. A little warning this book (and its illustrations) may frighten the much younger ones. Five stars all the way.

I had seen the movie when I was 11 and it became one of my favourite movies as a kid, it’s saddens me it’s taken me this long to read the actual book. It’s an amazing read, with a sturdy story line. Twists and turns to keep you reading and wanting more. The character’s are strange, lovable and all so different from one another. I see myself in coraline, I find she is not your average little girl or character.

I have just finished reading 'Coraline' and had to get online to do a review having purchased my copy through Amazon.com. The versatile and very talented Mr Gaiman combines horror and fairytale to bring about this enchanting story which children and adults alike will love. Beautifully illustrated by Dave McKean (who also collaborated with Gaiman on 'The Wolves in the Walls') this easy to read book leaves you wanting more. Coraline is a young girl if a little 'small for her age' who loves to explore and play games. One day she decides to explore the flat where she lives and ends up opening the door to an alternative world to her own. There she finds she has another mother and father who have been waiting for her and are desperate for her to stay with them on the other side of the door. ON the surface they seem very nice were it not for the fact that they have black buttons for eyes, eat black beetlebugs and don't really seem all that genuine. In Coraline's struggle to return to the real world and locate her real parents who have 'disappeared', she makes an unlikely alliance with a nameless cat and the spirits of three children. You might feel a little cheated having forked out your hard earned cash for a book which is only 184 pages, including an illustration in each new chapter, but it is well worth it. This is a far cry from Gaiman's other works such as the marvellous 'American Gods' and the Sandman illustrated books, which just goes to prove his ability to be flexible and versatile with his imagination and creative writing. Highly recommended for both adults and maturer children who won't end up with nightmares! Bravo.

Die Novelle lässt sich sehr schnell lesen. Ich selbst bin schon recht langsam beim lesen und kein guter Englischsprecher, daher hab ich für die Novelle etwa 5 h gebraucht (es sollte aber durchaus schneller gehen). Die Geschichte kannte ich schon zuvor aus dem gleichnamigen Film, wobei der Verlauf im Buch stringenter ist und etwas weniger umfasst als der Film Coraline, wobei mir das Buch etwas besser gefällt als der Film von der Geschichte her. Hier wurde bereits resümiert, dass die Geschichte vorhersehbar sei und etwas abgegriffen. Zu Beginn mag dies auch so stimmen, aber sobald die andere Mutter ihr wahres Gesicht zeigt, finde ich die Geschichte schon originell und spannend. Für ein eigentlich an Kinder gerichtete Lektüre finde ich das Buch schon sehr reflektierend, wobei es ein wenig schon an einen Bildungsroman erinnert. Ich finde sehr gut, dass die Hauptperson Coraline (nicht Caroline) kein typisches Mädchen im Sinne einer pinken Lilifee-Generation, sondern ein wahrhaftiges Kind mit seinen guten (Neugier, Aufmerksamkeit und Mut) und schlechten Eigenschaften (Ungeduld, Blauäugigkeit und eine gewisse Selbstbezogenheit) darstellt. Sehr schön ist, dass Coraline zum Ende mit immer schärferen Sinnen und Verstand agiert, um sich und ihre Eltern zu retten. Ich hab schon in manchen Rezensionen gehört, Coraline sei wie "Alice im Wunderland", was ich deutlich verneinen würde: Während Alice zufällig in eine einfach existente Parallelwelt eintaucht, die sich zwar manchmal an ihr stört und ihr auch gefährlich werden kann, aber dennoch für sich selbst da ist, wird Coraline in eine für sie geschaffene Parallelwelt geführt, die ihr zwar sehr vertraut erscheint, die aber auch nur für Coraline geschaffen wurde (sehr erhellend hierzu ist der Gang mit der Katze vom Haus weg). Ich denke, dass diese Geschichte mit ihrem Grusel, ihrer Skurrilität und ihren Entwicklungstendenzen des Hauptcharakters für den Leser eine angenehme Erfahrung darstellt. Lesenswert!

Coraline and her parents have moved in to a new flat, and things seem wonderful. But, Coraline's parents are too busy for her, so she goes exploring. As she does so, she finds that the new flat has twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Of those fourteen doors, thirteen open and can be passed through. The fourteenth, though, when Coraline's mother unlocks and opens the door, has only a brick wall behind it. Or does it? Because when Coraline unlocks and opens the fourteenth door, there isn't a brick wall there. Instead, she discovers another flat - which looks exactly like her own. At first, the other flat is really nice. The food there is much better, and her bedroom has a toy box with windup toys that are great fun. There's also another mother and another father. And they want Coraline to become their other daughter. But, in order to do so, Coraline would have to change. And that's where the trouble begins. I must confess that I am not one to read scary stories. If I do, I do so during the daytime, with all the lights on in the house. You can never be sure when the scary monsters will come out, after all. As such, I have not read many books by Mr. Gaiman. This is only the third, the first two being Odd and the Frost Giants and Norse Mythology - neither one of which falls into the category of scary story. As I had heard many good things about Coraline, and it's written for readers aged 9 and up, I thought it would be a safe enough option for me. I loved it. It did still scare me (I freely admit to being an adult scaredy cat), but I continued listening. As Coraline puts it, "when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave." For Coraline, I was brave. I should first point out that I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Mr. Gaiman himself. I am often leery of author-read audiobooks because, while they may be wizards with the written word, narrating involves an entirely different skill-set, and many authors just don't have it. Neil Gaiman does. His narration absolutely pulled me right into the story from the very beginning, and his knowledge of the story and the characters meant that he knew exactly what to emphasize and where to add tension to make the audiobook a truly great experience. From the beginning, when Coraline has to entertain herself because her parents don't have time for her to the end when Coraline finally ... no, I shouldn't say that. I don't want to give away spoilers. Anyway, from the beginning to the end, Gaiman weaves a tale that is fantastical, suspenseful, and wonderful. I loved the running - not really a joke or a gag, so much as a continuation of incompetency, so we'll go with that - the running incompetency of the other residents in Coraline's building being unable to say her name correctly; they keep calling her Caroline, even after she has corrected them...multiple times. Beyond the human characters - and I'm including other mother and other father in that category despite their being ... not really human - are the animal characters with which Coraline interacts multiple times. The rats. Oh. My. God. The rats. They sang. And I'm not talking about pretty little songs written by Disney musicians that will make you feel all happy and light. Oh, no. These rats sang songs that were dark and creepy and just... *shivers*. But, also... I loved those rats. I don't know why. There might be something wrong with me. But I thought they were great characters, and that's not even considering the old man who trains them. Then there's the cat. That cat is perfect, as anyone who has ever been owned by a cat can attest. In addition to all the great characters of both the creepy and non-creepy variety, Gaiman also weaves some wonderful themes in the story about love, family, fear, and bravery. As such, despite the creepiness of this story, I suspect that will become one of those stories that I revisit around Halloween each year, whether that's as a reread or a relisten. What about you? Will you also take a chance on this story? I vote for yes, but you obviously have the deciding vote...

Un buen libro, cómodo para llevar y leer a pesar de su pequeño tamaño, recomiendo al 100%

I recommend getting it I loved the movie so much but I knew that there was a original version of coraline and wanted to read it the only problem I have is that it took forever to come to my house but I think because of the crazy weather I’ve recently dealt with which hasn’t got anything to do with buying this book

I was really disappointed with Coraline. It’s nothing like the movie, which I was expecting, and the book just didn’t capture the same creepy, atmospheric tone. The story felt slow and didn’t have the same exciting plot twists. If you’re a fan of the movie, don’t expect the same experience here.