Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
I AM joking, but really--Gaiman never thought to change the last name? Smith, Jones, something that didn't create an insulting three-letter word? Guess he never visited a baby names site advising parents to be careful about things like this.
|
Or he looked but didn't notice a problem at the time. I'm put in mind of Homer and Marge Simpson looking for baby names for their as-yet-unborn hellion, and Homer keeps finding things wrong with names, stuff that kids might make fun of, but strangely, when "Bart" is mentioned Homer can think of nothing untoward. By which I mean, it happens to all of us that we sometimes miss what seems obvious to others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
When I read this, I couldn't help thinking of other works set in graveyards, especially where the dead are animate and interact with the living. One of my favorite books from last year was George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo. Another fairly recent read of mine is Peter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private Place, set very recognizably in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Then there's the drama Our Town. [...]
|
I was a little surprised to see Beagle in your list ... and it's a book (his first) that I haven't read yet.
I had a bit of trouble shaking
Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett out of my head when I first read this (also targetted at younger readers) ... now I will probably have the reverse problem when I next re-read the Pratchett book.
One problem in looking for links to other works is that the setting itself both inspires and limits the associated imagery. As a result many authors will seem to borrow from one another when it may be just a shared/common background being exposed.
Which isn't to say there are not some deliberate links.