Joy's Review of Coraline

Neil Gaimon's Coraline is a dark and quirky tale of a young girl whose boredom and loneliness takes her on an adventure to a fantastical world, much like her own, but with some very absurd and freakish differences. In fact the scare -factor is at times so apparent that it is easy to forget that Coraline is a children's book, with Tim Burton's adaptation a successful children's film. With a mutilated hand that claws it's way back into Coraline's world, to her 'other' father being an imprisoned slug in the basement who tries to attack her, this is truly the stuff of nightmares whether you are 8 or 48! 

The Nantwich Bookworms enjoyed the quirkiness of the novel and the 'through the looking glass' feel that it had, evoking the memories of boring school holidays, the despair at busy parents and the over-active imaginations that often encapsulate our childhoods. The shortness of the novel meant that it was concise, exciting and fast-paced. The imagery used was vivid and powerful, leaving our more sensitive readers slightly unnerved! 

At Nantwich Bookworms we try and choose books that cover a wide range of genres to appeal to all members of the group and to challenge ourselves by reading novels we wouldn't necessarily choose ourselves. Over the past year we have discovered books that have become firm favorites and become excited by authors that we had never heard of before. We are always looking for new members so if you would like to join us, please come along on the first Sunday of the month at the Black Lion in Nantwich at 8pm. 

February's read is Peter Hoeg's Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. You can contact us through Twitter @booknantwich, email nantwichbookworms@gmail.com, or see the blog for further detailswww.nantwichbookworms.blogspot.co.uk