Once on a Summertime

The village of Nutley in East Sussex was like any other community in England. Everyone knows each other. They live a humdrum existence. And then something happens during the last days of summer. It's not typical English weather, as the rain means business. Indeed, this is the kind (of rain) that throws itself down from the sky and can turn a lovely garden into a muddy, wet soup.

Coraline Jones moved into flat number four, with her family, on that particular summer. It was once a manor house, which was converted into flats. The teenage girl was eager to explore Littlemead. Alas, a thick fog covered the place after a heavy rainfall. And Coraline would catch a faint view of the milky white sky. Something was about to happen, but teenagers don't pay attention to such things. Not even to Mister Bobo, her upstairs neighbor, who warned her about an impending danger.

This is not Wonderland

Those who knew literature too well would swear that "Coraline" was inspired from the most popular fairy tales. Readers were reminded of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Neil Gaiman won't deny it.

Coraline discovered a bricked wall, where a door once stood. She was curious about the empty flat. There might be a fairy godmother living in Littlemead, as the teenage girl saw a dark passageway the following day. What she found was too good to be true. Attentive parents. Entertaining neighbors. Polite dogs. Their eyes were big, black buttons. They gleamed in her direction. A black cat was the only one without buttons, the same creature she encountered the other day. She didn't like his smug attitude. (Doesn't he remind you of the Cheshire cat?) He was her only guide.

The woman of your dreams

“The beldam swore by her good right hand, but she lied.”

At 160 pages, "Coraline" seemed like an eternity. Nick Gaiman's penchant for ghoulish characters was seen on the first chapter. And fans of the author won't be disappointed. They won't encounter zombie-like drifters, who tore Orpheus to pieces, but those dark red fingernails would terrify them. The Other Mother was eager to have Coraline in her home, but she was Gaiman's most unforgettable fiend. The young girl had no idea about her mean, scheming mind. There were children who came before her. They were imprisoned after she got tired of them.

"Coraline" was a product of a bored mind, when there was nothing better to do during the summer. Maybe Gaiman wasn't keen in finding another book to read. He wasn't in a mood for a walk. And documentary TV shows didn't interest him. Coraline summoned her courage and wit to face her other mother. She wanted to play games. She was capable of distorting anyone and anything. And Coraline took away her most prized possession.

Will there be a sequel? Stay tune.