We meet again for our discussion of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book readalong hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. Are we having fun? I am!

Today we’re checking out chapters 4-6. Of these, “The Witch’s Headstone” is my unequivocal favorite. It is here, against all manner of warnings from his elders about the evils of the dead in Potter’s Field, that Bod meets a wistful witch. Of course, we all want our children to obey us without question, but don’t you find that the forbidden soon becomes the irresistible? I’m thinking Adam and Eve. And there are other first couple parallels to The Graveyard Book, too. It is when Bod seeks an apple overhanging Potter’s Field that he experiences a fall and tumbles into knowledge of good and evil.

The buried witch Liza, it turns out, is not evil. She is funny, earthy (sorry), kind-hearted, and melancholy. It seems those on the bad side of the tree are meant to be forgotten, and therein lies Liza’s pain. Bod understands. How could he not with a name like Nobody? He sets out with an ancient artifact to buy her a headstone. (The mom in me was screaming at him every step.)  This foolhardy act leads to a well-executed cause and effect in which Bod finds himself trapped, comes perilously close to his nemesis Jack, and forges a mutual friendship with Liza. In the end, failing in his mission, it is his handmade headstone that touches Liza’s heart.

In our last Graveyard Book discussion, we looked at Gaiman’s quote in which the author revealed his intent to write a Jungle Bookesque story set in a graveyard. What I find so cool about Gaiman is that he dips his oars into more than one water. In addition to The Jungle Book and the story of Eve and Adam, I’m seeing connections to The Odyssey. For me, the episodic nature of the quest really echoes Homer’s work.

Not only that, our protagonist’s name, Nobody, seems a nod to the mariner himself. Remember back to freshman English class (in my case, way back) how Odysseus renamed himself Nobody before his encounter with the Cyclops? The purpose of the renaming was to provide protection against a prodigious enemy. Similarly, our guy was renamed Nobody to evade the evil Jack. No doubt, there are even more connections to be fished out.

As I said, this is my favorite chapter (with “The Hounds of God” a close second). You could even read “The Witch’s Headstone” as a stand-alone story, but why would you when you have the whole lovely book to lose yourself in?

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