Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Have you ever seen a ghoul gate? What was it like?
- Did this book scare you? If so, which part(s) and why? If not, why?
- Some readers complain that the Jacks of All Trades aren’t explained enough. What do you think?
- If there is a sequel, what would you want to see in it?
- Why can’t the dead talk about dancing the Macabray? Why must the living forget it? What does it mean that Silas isn’t allowed to participate? How do you think he feels about this?
- What do you think of the novel’s illustrations, by Dave McKean? What, if anything, would you like to see illustrated that isn’t?
- As we discuss in “Writing Style,” Neil Gaiman says that he wanted The Graveyard Book to be both a novel and a book of short stories. Do you think he succeeds? He also says, “The tension between those two things was both a delight and a heartache as a writer.” What does he mean by this? What parts of the short story might he have had to put aside? What parts of the novel? What might he have enjoyed about the experiment?