Jayson’s Reviews > Coraline > Status Update
Jayson
is starting
Notes:
(1) By my own GR experience, this is the most popular Gaiman novel. It's also one of his shortest. So, unfortunately, this reread will be finished quicker than usual.
(2) Remember when IMAX was a thing? You can always tell when a film was made for IMAX because the aspect ratio's perfectly sized to a computer monitor. Under conventional circumstances, it'd be thinner.
— May 20, 2021 05:30AM
Notes:
(1) By my own GR experience, this is the most popular Gaiman novel. It's also one of his shortest. So, unfortunately, this reread will be finished quicker than usual.
(2) Remember when IMAX was a thing? You can always tell when a film was made for IMAX because the aspect ratio's perfectly sized to a computer monitor. Under conventional circumstances, it'd be thinner.
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Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is 91% done
Notes:
(1) Coraline has a dream, where she's visited by the three souls she saved.
- The first wears a frilly shirt, which I take to mean he's Georgian or Regency era.
- The second has a brown bonnet, which I take to mean she's Victorian.
- The third has butterfly-like wings, which I take to mean she's some kind of fairy.
- Possibly more evidence implying a shared universe.
— Jun 02, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) Coraline has a dream, where she's visited by the three souls she saved.
- The first wears a frilly shirt, which I take to mean he's Georgian or Regency era.
- The second has a brown bonnet, which I take to mean she's Victorian.
- The third has butterfly-like wings, which I take to mean she's some kind of fairy.
- Possibly more evidence implying a shared universe.
Jayson
is 85% done
Notes:
(1) "It was her only way home, she knew. But it all depended on the other mother needing to gloat, needing not only to win but to show that she had won."
- Ah, yes, Bond-villain logic: Tell me every detail of your fiendish plan, or else show me things I'm not meant to have. I'm dead anyway.
- Only the best villains gloat. They're the ones with things to gloat about.
— Jun 01, 2021 11:40PM
Notes:
(1) "It was her only way home, she knew. But it all depended on the other mother needing to gloat, needing not only to win but to show that she had won."
- Ah, yes, Bond-villain logic: Tell me every detail of your fiendish plan, or else show me things I'm not meant to have. I'm dead anyway.
- Only the best villains gloat. They're the ones with things to gloat about.
Jayson
is 78% done
Notes:
(1) "Beside the decapitated rat, a smug expression on its face, was the black cat."
- In the film, dead rat keeps its head.
(2) "Coraline realised ... she knew exactly where her parents were. If she had stopped to think, she might have known where they were all along."
- If a rifle hangs on a wall in Act I, by Act 3 it must be fired.
- Coraline's found Chekhov's Gun!
— May 31, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) "Beside the decapitated rat, a smug expression on its face, was the black cat."
- In the film, dead rat keeps its head.
(2) "Coraline realised ... she knew exactly where her parents were. If she had stopped to think, she might have known where they were all along."
- If a rifle hangs on a wall in Act I, by Act 3 it must be fired.
- Coraline's found Chekhov's Gun!
Jayson
is 70% done
Notes:
(1) In the book, Coraline goes down a trap door and speaks with the monstrosity that was her other father. In the film that scene is removed.
- Odd, considering how much the film stretched the story to be feature-length.
- Though, there are two scenes with real and fake Wybie that fill that narrative purpose.
(2) To quote Austin Powers: "Who throws a shoe, honestly?"
— May 30, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) In the book, Coraline goes down a trap door and speaks with the monstrosity that was her other father. In the film that scene is removed.
- Odd, considering how much the film stretched the story to be feature-length.
- Though, there are two scenes with real and fake Wybie that fill that narrative purpose.
(2) To quote Austin Powers: "Who throws a shoe, honestly?"
Jayson
is 62% done
Notes:
(1) '"There, my sweet Coraline," said her other mother.'
- Quite obviously, a Neil Diamond reference.
(2) '"Now, I think you're being silly, dear," said the other mother. "I love you. I will always love you."'
- Possibly a Whitney Houston reference.
(3) "She ate the breakfast, trying not to wolf it down. She was hungrier than she had thought."
- Duran Duran, perhaps?
— May 29, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) '"There, my sweet Coraline," said her other mother.'
- Quite obviously, a Neil Diamond reference.
(2) '"Now, I think you're being silly, dear," said the other mother. "I love you. I will always love you."'
- Possibly a Whitney Houston reference.
(3) "She ate the breakfast, trying not to wolf it down. She was hungrier than she had thought."
- Duran Duran, perhaps?
Jayson
is 52% done
Notes:
(1) I appreciate that they made Coraline's mirror-world outfit book-accurate � a grey sweater with stars. In the film, the Other Mother gifts it to her. In the book, she picks it from clothes in the other bedroom.
(2) If you're wondering why I've not mentioned Wybie yet, it's because he's not in the book, and only useful in the film as a thing to speak exposition to.
— May 28, 2021 11:40PM
Notes:
(1) I appreciate that they made Coraline's mirror-world outfit book-accurate � a grey sweater with stars. In the film, the Other Mother gifts it to her. In the book, she picks it from clothes in the other bedroom.
(2) If you're wondering why I've not mentioned Wybie yet, it's because he's not in the book, and only useful in the film as a thing to speak exposition to.
Jayson
is 48% done
Notes:
(1) "It was a snow-globe, with two little people in it. Coraline shook it and set the snow flying, white snow that glittered as it tumbled through the water. Then she put the snow-globe back on the mantelpiece, and carried on looking for her true parents and for a way out."
- Ah, Chekhov's snow-globe... it shall come into play later.
- Oh, where must her parents be?
— May 26, 2021 11:40PM
Notes:
(1) "It was a snow-globe, with two little people in it. Coraline shook it and set the snow flying, white snow that glittered as it tumbled through the water. Then she put the snow-globe back on the mantelpiece, and carried on looking for her true parents and for a way out."
- Ah, Chekhov's snow-globe... it shall come into play later.
- Oh, where must her parents be?
Jayson
is 39% done
Notes:
(1) '"Coraline," said Miss Spink. "What's your name?"
"Coraline," said Coraline.
"And we don't know each other, do we?"'
- The first hint the Other Mother's puppeteering.
(2) "[Coraline] bought two large bottles of limeade, a chocolate cake, and a new bag of apples, and went back home and ate them for dinner."
- What stands out to me is she ate a whole bag of apples.
— May 25, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) '"Coraline," said Miss Spink. "What's your name?"
"Coraline," said Coraline.
"And we don't know each other, do we?"'
- The first hint the Other Mother's puppeteering.
(2) "[Coraline] bought two large bottles of limeade, a chocolate cake, and a new bag of apples, and went back home and ate them for dinner."
- What stands out to me is she ate a whole bag of apples.
Jayson
is 27% done
Notes:
(1) "There was something irritatingly self-centred about the cat ... As if it were, in its opinion, the only thing in any world or place that could possibly be of any importance."
- Such a thing could be said of cats generally.
(2) In the audiobook, the music is performed by indie band The Gothic Archies. In the film, it's Hungarian choir music.
- Either way strange.
— May 24, 2021 11:40PM
Notes:
(1) "There was something irritatingly self-centred about the cat ... As if it were, in its opinion, the only thing in any world or place that could possibly be of any importance."
- Such a thing could be said of cats generally.
(2) In the audiobook, the music is performed by indie band The Gothic Archies. In the film, it's Hungarian choir music.
- Either way strange.
Jayson
is 18% done
Notes:
(1) "Outside, the view was the same one she saw from her own bedroom: trees, fields and, beyond them, on the horizon, distant purple hills."
- I can't be the only one who read "purple hills" and thought: Eminem.
(2) In the book, Coraline walks through a hallway to the other house. In the film, she crawls through a kind of paper lantern tunnel.
- Colors = less creepy.
— May 23, 2021 11:50PM
Notes:
(1) "Outside, the view was the same one she saw from her own bedroom: trees, fields and, beyond them, on the horizon, distant purple hills."
- I can't be the only one who read "purple hills" and thought: Eminem.
(2) In the book, Coraline walks through a hallway to the other house. In the film, she crawls through a kind of paper lantern tunnel.
- Colors = less creepy.
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Kadi wrote: "I’ve read this 2 times and both times it was amazing, just as good as the movie. And I remember when it came out in cinemas. I saw the trailer there but didn’t watch it until a year later. Gave me ..."Glad to have you aboard for the ride! Yeah, I saw the movie first and didn't read the book until some years later, but I remember them being on the same level as well.
It doesn't surprise me that you've seen my review of this already. It's one of two reviews I've written that have over 800 likes, so it's probably on my feed all the time from all the commenting alone.
I have personal policy of only reading books once. This one's an audiobook reread, so I count it as a different experience. I figure, no matter how good a book is, I'd rather spend time reading something new: there's always the potential to find something just as good or better.
Ooh, I watched the movie a few years ago and I've been wanting to read this book for a while now. Looking forward to seeing all your updates and review!
That book creeped me out! I had to read something funny after I finished it to be able to sleep! LOL
Layla wrote: "Ooh, I watched the movie a few years ago and I've been wanting to read this book for a while now. Looking forward to seeing all your updates and review!"Thanks! Been looking forward to going through this one myself :)
Amy wrote: "That book creeped me out! I had to read something funny after I finished it to be able to sleep! LOL"I'm sure you weren't the only one :)
This is a great book! Cant wait to see what you think of it! Also, you have me wanting to read Stardust now LOL!
Jenny wrote: "This is a great book! Cant wait to see what you think of it! Also, you have me wanting to read Stardust now LOL!"Happy to hear that, Jenny 😁👍
Waiting for your review 😁. I love both the book and the movie ☺️
� wrote: "Waiting for your review 😁. I love both the book and the movie ☺️"Thanks! I'm a big fan of the movie and book too. The review will be some ways off still. I've barely started with this audiobook 😁👍
Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ wrote: "I've only seen the movie. I was gobsmacked when I found out [spoilers removed]"It may just be me, but I don't think he added much to the film 🤷♂�
Jayson wrote: "I have personal policy of only reading books once. This one's an audiobook reread, so I count it as a different experience. I figure, no matter how good a book is, I'd rather spend time reading something new: there's always the potential to find something just as good or better. "This is a smart policy. I hate rereading and will only reread books if I knew I absolutely loved them the first time round AND I’ve forgotten pretty much everything about it, that way I don’t know all the plot twists and how it ends.
Jayson wrote: "Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ wrote: "I've only seen the movie. I was gobsmacked when I found out [spoilers removed]"It may just be me, but I don't think he added much to the film 🤷♂�"
I have to agree with Jay on this one! I was surprised like Linda was when I found out Wybie wasn’t in the book (I read the book after watching the movie) but to be honest you don’t even feel his absence. He only seemed to be in the movie to motivate Coraline to (view spoiler) That and he hinted at the whole mystery at the beginning. I quite liked that addition but it wasn’t as though it was necessary because the plot made sense without him and his aunt.
Kadi wrote: "This is a smart policy. I hate rereading and will only reread books if I knew I absolutely loved them the first time round AND I’ve forgotten pretty much everything about it, that way I don’t know all the plot twists and how it ends."Yeah, that's sort of the case with me. I can carry on an intelligent conversation about this, should someone comment or have a question. But it's been so long since I read it that I've forgotten nearly all of the plot details.
Kadi wrote: "I have to agree with Jay on this one! I was surprised like Linda was when I found out Wybie wasn’t in the book (I read the book after watching the movie) but to be honest you don’t even feel his absence."To me, the only point of Wybie is to be someone Coraline can dump exposition onto. Apart from that, my guess is he was added to have a male character for the sake of counteracting young boys potentially thinking it's a "girl's movie."
@Jay I figured that was the case that’s why I’ve been hiding spoilers despite the fact that you’ve already read it. Don’t want to spoil the plot points for you!
I love this book, I personally prefer it so much more than the movie! Coraline is such a great character!
Kadi wrote: "@Jay I figured that was the case that’s why I’ve been hiding spoilers despite the fact that you’ve already read it. Don’t want to spoil the plot points for you!"Awfully nice of you. That's what pals are for 😁👍
Janhavi wrote: "I love this book, I personally prefer it so much more than the movie! Coraline is such a great character!"Hard to argue with that. The book's fantastic :)
Jayson wrote: "Janhavi wrote: "I love this book, I personally prefer it so much more than the movie! Coraline is such a great character!"Hard to argue with that. The book's fantastic :)"
The movie's not bad, but I really appreciated how Coraline defeats the mother on her own using her intelligence. The addition of Wybie sort of changed that. But I understand he was neccessary so that the audience can know Coraline's thoughts.
Janhavi wrote: "The movie's not bad, but I really appreciated how Coraline defeats the mother on her own using her intelligence. The addition of Wybie sort of changed that. But I understand he was neccessary so that the audience can know Coraline's thoughts."I'm usually the sort person who dislikes when adaptations change too much of the source material. But, I don't mind it in this case. Wybie's pretty benign anyway, and doesn't really detract from the story. Plus, he brings out more of Coraline's personality, simply by giving her someone to react to and get emotional about.
I was surprised to see this is only your second reading of it, could’ve sworn I’d seen you read it before🤔 all the same I’m looking forward to following your progress updates on this one!