This is the strangest, deliciously creepy book I have read in
recent memory. I could not put this book down. It is not a long
story, but is definitely satisfyingly complete. The illustrations
just add to the flavour.
Coraline is easily bored, especially since she and her parents
moved into the new house. But Coraline likes to explore. There are
fourteen doors in the new house but one is locked and won't open.
There is a key; when her mother unlocked the door nothing was
revealed but a brick wall. The house is made up of probably three
flats on her side of the big house, and the other tenants are nice,
though a little strange. Two old ladies who read tea-leaves in one
flat and a strange old man who talks of his musical band of mice in
another. Returning to her own flat after visiting her neighbours,
Coraline dwells on the problem of the door that is locked. There
must be an equal part of the house on the other side.
Alone one day, she climbs up and snags the bunch of keys hanging
high on the wall, which fall to the floor. Taking the one odd key,
and on opening the door discovers that the brick wall is not there
but there is a long corridor. This is where the book moves from a
somewhat typical young adult book to a horror story with all its
mystical and exciting thrills, because down the corridor is a
replica of their own side of the house, but not quite right.
Strangely the rooms are furnished with the same furniture, but
slightly off. And strangest of all, Coraline's mother is there, but
not quite. From here the story must be read because what thrill
would one get if there are spoilers in the review!
I really enjoyed this book, was fascinated by it, and will
definitely be reading a lot more of Gaiman's books. I highly
recommend it to anyone who likes shivers from ghost stories told
around a campfire (this is not a ghost story, but the analogy
works). I would not recommend it for younger children, though.