Coraline, Inkheart, movies, and books

I've always been one to read the book first, then see the movie. Then I always complain that the book was better. That is certainly the case with Coraline, now in theaters. I saw it in 3-D with my daughter. It's a great movie and the 3-D effects are awesome, but of course, I don't think the movie is as good as the book; and I didn't like the addition of a new character to the story. Part of Coraline's charm as a heroine is her self-reliance and assuredness. She really didn't need a sidekick.

Still, it's well worth seeing. Leave the preschoolers at home though! (I was surprised to see how many were in the theater)


Inkheart is a different story. I had never read Inkheart and went to see the movie with my daughters. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but I really did enjoy it as a reading-themed, action movie.

I followed up the movie by downloading the audiobook version of the book, read by Lynn Redgrave (Listening Library 2005). I'm not sure if it was the length of the book (over 15 hours) or the monotony of listening to the same reader, that made it such slow-going. I've listened to Lynn Redgrave as the reader of Prince Caspian, and got used to her characterizations after a few chapters, however, the number and variety of characters in Inkheart makes it difficult for any narrator to create enough vocal variety for each character. Add to that fact, the fact that I already knew most of the story (although the movie does depart from the book in several major ways), and the whole audiobook experience was a bit of a chore.

But...

just when I was deciding that I wouldn't follow through on the rest of the series, Listening Library played a cruel trick on me - they included the first chapter of Inkspell, read by Brendan Fraser after the final chapter of Inkheart. Now I have no choice. I have to know what happens to Dustfinger!

The Graveyard Book

I always seem to have trouble when I try to add tags to an embedded Animoto video. Not sure if it's a Blogger glitch or an Animoto proprietary issue. In any case, I'm still an Animoto fan.

So, the tags are here and the video is in the next post.
http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2009/02/graveyard-book_24.html

Coraline

Gaiman, Neil. 2002. Coraline. Harper Collins.


I read Coraline yesterday while waiting for my daughters to finish piano lessons. Written in 2002, it was a Garden State Teen Book Award winner in 2005, and remains popular. Now I know why. You can't put it down. It's eerie and unsettling, but stops short of horrific.

When Coraline complains of rainy day boredom, her father suggests that she explore their new flat. "Count all the doors and windows. List everything blue. Mount an expedition to discover the hot water tank. And leave me alone to work." Among her other discoveries, Coraline finds thirteen doors that open and shut; one that does not.

In the first chapter, the reader has already met all the characters - at least the ones residing on this side of the drawing room door. There's Coraline, her mother and father, the cat who knows life on both sides of the door, the spinsters, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible who were once famous actresses, and the crazy old man upstairs. "'One day, little Caroline, when they are all ready, everyone in the whole world will see the wonders of my mouse circus. You ask me why you cannot see it now. Is that what you asked me?' 'No,' said Coraline quietly, 'I asked you not to call me Caroline. It's Coraline.' "

The narrator's matter-of-fact delivery suits Coraline's no-nonsense personality. She is the perfect level-headed foil for the creepy denizens residing behind the drawing room door. She is brave in the same manner that her father once showed her. "When you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave," explains Coraline, not when you act with courage because it's the only thing you can do.

It is Coraline's bravery in facing the eerie, button-eyed ghosts of the other world, that keeps the reader from becoming completely frightened. With a clear sense of purpose, to rescue her parents, Coraline passes into the dark world and keeps her wits about her as she tries to puzzle out the riddle of this sinister, mirror-image of her world.

There is a background message of "there's no place like home," but the true message of this book lies in the foreword, a simple quote of G.K. Chesterton.

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

Coraline is a heroine that will stay with you.