Coraline is a 2002 novel by British writer Neil Gaiman. The story combines elements of fantasy and horror. In 2002, Coraline won the Bram Stoker Prize for Best Work for Children, and in 2003 received the Hugo and Nebula Prizes for Best Novel.
History of creation
Neil Gaiman began writing Coraline for his daughter Holly in the 1990s. The writer chose his own house in the town of Nutley in southern England as the place of the narration, adding only a living room from his own childhood. The book was published eleven years later - in 2002, and since Holly managed to "outgrow" this tale, the writer finished the story for his youngest daughter Maddie.
Neil Gaiman chose Coraline's name entirely by accident, due to a common typo. He decided not to correct his mistake, and later learned that the name of Coraline actually exists. For the first time, the writer came across him on the pages of the memoirs of Casanova, who met a young lady named Coraline during one of the Vienna balls.
Plot
Coraline Jones moves with her parents to an old house, which is divided into small apartments. In the apartment below them live Miss Primula and Miss Forsybilla - two elderly women who were once famous circus performers, but now they are retired. Also, Coraline meets a crazy old man from the attic, who assures the girl that he is training a mouse circus.
One rainy day, Coraline finds a locked door in the far corner of the living room. Mother and daughter unlock the mysterious door, but it turns out that the passage is walled up. On the other side is another apartment, which is still for sale. The next day, Coraline decides to take a walk and visits her neighbors, but they are very excited about something. Miss Primrose and Miss Forsybilla warn Coraline that she is in terrible danger, and the old man from the attic gives the girl a warning against mice - the animals say: "Don't go to that door!"
However, having stayed at home on her own, Coraline neglects all the precautions and, having nothing to do, decides to open the door. This time, she does not find a brick wall there, but sees a long dark corridor that leads to a house that is no different from her own. It is home to a “different mother” and “another dad” who look just like Coralini's parents, except they have shiny black buttons instead of eyes. In this “other world” everything seems better: her “other” parents are kinder, the room is full of toys that come to life and can move independently and even fly, and the rejuvenated “others” Miss Primula and Miss Forsybilla put on a circus show right in their own apartment.
But later it turns out that not everything in this world is as good as it seems at first glance. Coraline meets strange and scary creatures, sees the other side of the ideal “other” house - in fact, this place serves as a terrible and terrifying prison for souls who were captured by the terrible hag witch who pretends to be Coralini's “other mother” in order to take possession of the girl's soul and heart …
