To those who are participating to the June/July reading, comments on Coraline by Neil Gaiman will open on July 15. It is a rather short reading but I am maintaining the original schedule for consistency. In the next few days, I will also post (here) a reading guide with points to ponder while reading and possibly become the inspiration for some of the discussion. In between feel free to make suggestions about what you would like to read next!
How is your reading of Coraline going? Here are (starting) points to think about while reading and discussing the book: - Coraline is considered a modern fairy tale, how does it compare to the genre and what makes it modern? What elements of fairy tales does it use (imagery, voice, phrases like "once upon a time", etc.)? - Coraline is also considered a horror story for children, did it scare you or your children? What aspects of the writing made it (more or less) scary? What is the value of the story being scary? - what is captivating about the story, about the journey Coraline has to take in order to learn to appreciate her own family? If there wasn't a message, a lesson to be learned, would Coraline have had the same effect on the you, the reader? - do you feel satisfied by the fantastical elements of the story? Think of novels in other genres as well, like The Never Ending Story, that although doesn't quite compare because of the scale of the story and world, the MC descends in a its world of imagination to gain courage to be able to deal with difficulties in his own life.
The thread is now open!!! So, what do you think of Coraline? I will return later to add my own comments, but I am looking forward to reading people's comments on the book
did I like Coraline by Neil Gaiman? Yes, I did, but I am not in love with it. I liked how Gaiman has managed to weave effortlessly the theme of the buttoned eyes, a very fairy tale element, into a modern story of a girl needing to learn to appreciate the people in her life. I found it interesting how he doesn't respect writing rules typical for fairy tales, by moving the "once upon a time" a few lines below the opening line, for instance. But that along the repetition of "there was" and "there were" to introduce new characters or elements in the story gives clearly a sense that it is a fantastical story that mirrors daily life, and screams "fairy tale". As a child I always imagined to find a sort of fairy tale in my ordinary life, and I think Gaiman does that. This is also a horror story for children--in an interview Gaiman described how also children like to get scared, and with the story they can experience that emotion in the safety of the home. I think it is important to honor all of the wide range of emotions we possess as humans, and I think literature allows us to experience and explore them. I did find the buttoned eyes the scariest element in the story, but not so much from his descriptions of it, rather from my own imagination. Not all scary scenes in Coraline are consuming emotionally though, like some of Coraline's escapes from the other mother only took a few lines, while other scenes were so detailed I was able to get into the mood of the story. However, children might respond to the story and the scenes differently, I don't know. Overall, I would say that more than horror, the story develops into a chilling adventure, which makes the reading exciting for a child, I would imagine. Overall, I like how Gaiman breaks a lot of boundaries by subverting expectations on the elements of a story. I think this is what makes him a master of storytelling, which is a great lesson for writers. what did you think of Coraline?
There were a few thematic parallels to Alice in Wonderland. Like the world through the door, the cat who gives her advice about the surreal world which she could either take or leave, the fact that she wanted to find a friend and someone to talk to in that world and the bizarreness compares to the story of Alice’s in many ways. The element of “is it dream or is it madness”? Or real. The fact that she would have to play a game with the other mother to escape. The mice song seemed to imply a communist uprising or a revolution where they all take over. Her name was misdeclared as “Caroline”. At a show one of the characters called out “what’s in a name?” And it obviously annoyed Coraline he constantly kept getting it wrong. She was given a stone with a hole that was supposed to bring her luck in the world through the door and seemed to be a factor of her good fortune in helping her escape. That stone was important and she put lots of significance on it and miss forceible gave it to her.
You could also argue that the whole experience was part of her imagination wherein she was playing a game. As kids sometimes do when they invent imaginary worlds either alone or with company. At the end of the story she plays with her dolls and serves them tea, so the whole experience could have been something she was living in her mind while she played.
the stone with the hole that turns out to be key in finding the spirits of those trapped by the other mother--the object that allows the MC to break a spell or set someone free--also is typical of fairy tales, but there is something about being a round stone and being handed to her with a "I am giving it to you just because" that made it feel like the stone was just rushed into the story. Something is off, and for some reason to me it feels the element itself, the round stone doesn't quite work, but I can't tell why it is that way. I also wish it was handed to her with more meaning or as the outcome of a more fortuitous coincidence.
In a way it was prophetic since in chapter 2 the real Miss Forcible and Miss Spink read her fortune in a tea cup and warn her of a terrible danger. Coraline asks them what she should do about it and they say 1. don’t mention the Scottish play (I’m guessing that would be MacBeth as it’s also been known as “the Scottish play) 2. don’t wear green in your dressing room. 3. given a stone with a hole and told to keep it as it may help. She takes this advice on board from the real world and that gets her through the nightmare that was prophecized in the world past the door. In the real world, the door is hardly an opening as it’s barred by a pile of bricks. At the end of the story once she escapes and saves the others too, she gives the stone back to them and they call her an “extraordinary child” which demonstrates their clairvoyance.
You are right, they clearly function as fairies, but I feel the unclear explanation about the purpose of handing to her the stone--providing no instructions on how to use it--was to avoid anticipating the story. Miss Spink tells Coraline the stone is good for bad things, but it is such a general statement that I don't know, maybe for a child works. I find it weak. I am not sure, though, why I find the stone to be such an important element that it bothers me not to be "right" (in my opinion). Aside from working for you in the story, did you like the stone as "talisman" (I can't think of a better word for it)? From Coraline at the end of Ch.II: "On the mantelpiece was a small jar, and Miss Spink took off the top of the jar and began to pull things out of it. There was a tiny china duck, a thimble, a strange little brass coin, two paper clips and a stone with a hole in it. She passed Coraline the stone with a hole in it. “What’s it for?” asked Coraline. The hole went all the way through the middle of the stone. She held it up to the window and looked through it. “It might help,” said Miss Spink. “They’re good for bad things, sometimes.” Coraline put on her coat, said good-bye to Misses Spink and Forcible and to the dogs, and went outside.
Didn’t mind the talisman since it seemed to be the one thing that got her through the subplot and anticipated a happy ending, if not left a little open-ended.
-- announcement -- Given the lack of participation I have decided to quit the leadership of the WF Book Club. I am hoping someone with more charisma, capable of drawing participation, can replace me and become its leader. I do hope someone else steps in so that the club can continue on. I, for one, will join it. Cheers
That’s a shame @ruskaya . You weren’t a bad host but you’re right. There is a lack of participation this time around.