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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Little book store Great story with two bonuses:
- Stephen King is acknowledged in the acknowledgments
And
- one of the interviews in the back was by Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill.
So, this one’s going in the collection.
I ❤️ used bookstores.
- Stephen King is acknowledged in the acknowledgments
And
- one of the interviews in the back was by Stephen King’s son, Joe Hill.
So, this one’s going in the collection.
I ❤️ used bookstores.
I write reviews on Goodreads because post-academia I would read books and then, because I wasn't taking notes or writing papers on them, they would vanish from my memory...except anything by Neil Gaiman. The thing with almost all of his novels is that they don't just tell stories, with plot and character and literary tropes. They offer a glimpse into a dream world where narrative is just enough askew that you feel unsure of where you are - a little afraid - a little excited. You don't forget a Neil Gaiman novel; you live it, you feel it, you're haunted by it.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is full of the dark fragments and details that Gaiman does best, all from the perspective of a child: a floating Ursula Monkton, her fingers "opening like flowers in a speeded-up film"; the night birds, huddling in the dark; an absolutely terrifying scene in which the narrator realizes that nothing and no one in the world can be trusted, even his father. The novel is both intricately beautiful and gut-wrenchingly horrific - like all the best fairytales and all the best horror stories. It's neither and both, a novel I'll certainly not forget anytime soon.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is full of the dark fragments and details that Gaiman does best, all from the perspective of a child: a floating Ursula Monkton, her fingers "opening like flowers in a speeded-up film"; the night birds, huddling in the dark; an absolutely terrifying scene in which the narrator realizes that nothing and no one in the world can be trusted, even his father. The novel is both intricately beautiful and gut-wrenchingly horrific - like all the best fairytales and all the best horror stories. It's neither and both, a novel I'll certainly not forget anytime soon.
Got 3/4 through and didn't finish ... don't think I'm going to. Amusingly, I (a memoirist and realistic fiction writer) liked the realistic parts at the beginning the best and lost interest later. A friend who writes YA fantasy found that section OK but loved the rest. 'Nuff said.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane nous raconte l'histoire d'un homme qui se rend à des funérailles. Revoyant la maison de son enfance, il a l'idée de suivre le chemin menant vers une ferme où habitait Lettie, une ancienne amie. En méditant devant l'étang se situant non loin, étang que Lettie désignait comme un océan, des souvenirs datant de ses sept ans lui reviennent. Une époque où il dût se protéger d'un monstre venant d'une autre dimension, cherchant à lui nuire et manipulant toute sa famille.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane est un roman qui peut être lu comme la métaphore de l'enfance et le changement qui s'opère lorsque l'on devient adulte, comme la perte de l'innocence et de la naïveté.
Cependant, si l'on considère que ce livre a été écrit par l'auteur pour évacuer et expliquer les années qu'il a passé au sein de la scientologie, tout prend un sens bien plus sombre.
Le thème de la mémoire et de l'identité sont très présents, deux passages étant particulièrement marquants :
The Ocean at the End of the Lane est un roman qui peut être lu comme la métaphore de l'enfance et le changement qui s'opère lorsque l'on devient adulte, comme la perte de l'innocence et de la naïveté.
Cependant, si l'on considère que ce livre a été écrit par l'auteur pour évacuer et expliquer les années qu'il a passé au sein de la scientologie, tout prend un sens bien plus sombre.
Le thème de la mémoire et de l'identité sont très présents, deux passages étant particulièrement marquants :
“Different people remember things differently, and you’ll not get any two people to remember anything the same, whether they were there or not.”
“And did I pass?”
The face of the old woman on my right was unreadable in the gathering dusk. On my left the younger woman said, “You don’t pass or fail at being a person, dear.”
Des phrases qui trouvent certainement résonance au fond de beaucoup d'entre nous, car tout le monde craint de voir ses souvenirs s'envoler ou se modifier au fil du temps, tout comme l'on craint de commettre ou reproduire des erreurs passées.
Malheureusement, ces deux citations prennent un tout autre sens aujourd'hui... Peut-être que l'on ne réussit ou n'échoue pas à être une personne, mais on peut du moins essayer d'être quelqu'un de bien.
This slim book is nothing short of magical. I read it in one sitting, which is really rare for me, even with short books. All the things that make Neil Gaiman an unique and exciting writer are present here. His stories always contain a strangeness to them. Like looking at our world while hanging upside-down or through a foggy widow. Its recognizable, but not quite the same. The best part is that Gaiman never seems to want to apologize or justify the strangeness. He just lets it be strange. And before you realize what's happened - it isn't so strange anymore, its just part of the story's charm.
I found Gaiman's narrator one of the best child narrators I've read in a long time. I think it must be hard for an author to capture that space between the genuine naivete and sharp awareness and complexity of childhood. On one hand children know more than adults give them credit for, but they don't always understand everything they see. Gaiman found a way to narrate from that space and also put a lot of trust in the reader to navigate it.
I won't say much about themes other than to to mention that some of them take a while to emerge. Give this book at last 147 pages before you give up on it.
And last but not least - the writing. Just wow. He is a master for a reason. Like in the Sandman books and many others, the way he pulls all the pieces together in the end is nothing short of brilliant. But the way in which it is delivered - that is where the magic comes from.
I found Gaiman's narrator one of the best child narrators I've read in a long time. I think it must be hard for an author to capture that space between the genuine naivete and sharp awareness and complexity of childhood. On one hand children know more than adults give them credit for, but they don't always understand everything they see. Gaiman found a way to narrate from that space and also put a lot of trust in the reader to navigate it.
I won't say much about themes other than to to mention that some of them take a while to emerge. Give this book at last 147 pages before you give up on it.
And last but not least - the writing. Just wow. He is a master for a reason. Like in the Sandman books and many others, the way he pulls all the pieces together in the end is nothing short of brilliant. But the way in which it is delivered - that is where the magic comes from.
Many of you have probably seen this one floating around the bookverse a lot in the past few months (read as year) and were wondering if you should pick it up or not. I was in your shoes just two days ago and decided, hey-what the heck, let’s give it a shot.
So I went to the library, scooped up a copy, and read this while I waited for my turn at my doctor’s office (no seriously, it literally took me two hours to read this tiny thing). And well- here’s my thoughts on whether or not you should pick it up too.
I have never really read any of Gaiman’s work before, other than Coraline a hella long time ago, and after all the great things I have heard about his writing I had high hopes going in that this book would be phenomenal.
Gaiman’s narrator is an English man in his forties, who returns to his childhood home located in the English countryside of Sussex. He begins to visit familiar places that he has not seen in years and it stirs up a lot of memories for him. Enter Lettie Hempstock, a childhood friend of his from when he was seven, and her home with a pond (that she calls an ocean) at the end of the lane. The two meet after a man commits suicide in the narrator’s car outside of the Hempstock farm and supernatural trouble follows not long after.
Ultimately, this book just didn’t do it for me. The narrator’s voice just didn’t convey any of the excitement, the fear, or wonder that was being displayed by his childhood self. He is remembering things that happened in the past and it just really limited the writing to a shadow of what it could’ve been. There was just absolutely no emotion in this book. I mean sure, there are words that should invoke or convey emotion, but everything fell completely flat for me. The writing was dull to the point that the only thing that kept me pushing forward was the need to find what everyone else had loved about this novel.
Once I read Gaiman’s acknowledgements at the end of the book I began to understand why the book just seemed to go on to no end or purpose. He admits it was just suppose to be a short story and that it turned into a short novel, and believe me, I could tell. The book just seemed to really have no purpose other than to show off these powerful and pretentious statements about human beings the author had concocted to make readers believe they were reading something much more deep than they actually were.
So I went to the library, scooped up a copy, and read this while I waited for my turn at my doctor’s office (no seriously, it literally took me two hours to read this tiny thing). And well- here’s my thoughts on whether or not you should pick it up too.
I have never really read any of Gaiman’s work before, other than Coraline a hella long time ago, and after all the great things I have heard about his writing I had high hopes going in that this book would be phenomenal.
Gaiman’s narrator is an English man in his forties, who returns to his childhood home located in the English countryside of Sussex. He begins to visit familiar places that he has not seen in years and it stirs up a lot of memories for him. Enter Lettie Hempstock, a childhood friend of his from when he was seven, and her home with a pond (that she calls an ocean) at the end of the lane. The two meet after a man commits suicide in the narrator’s car outside of the Hempstock farm and supernatural trouble follows not long after.
Ultimately, this book just didn’t do it for me. The narrator’s voice just didn’t convey any of the excitement, the fear, or wonder that was being displayed by his childhood self. He is remembering things that happened in the past and it just really limited the writing to a shadow of what it could’ve been. There was just absolutely no emotion in this book. I mean sure, there are words that should invoke or convey emotion, but everything fell completely flat for me. The writing was dull to the point that the only thing that kept me pushing forward was the need to find what everyone else had loved about this novel.
Once I read Gaiman’s acknowledgements at the end of the book I began to understand why the book just seemed to go on to no end or purpose. He admits it was just suppose to be a short story and that it turned into a short novel, and believe me, I could tell. The book just seemed to really have no purpose other than to show off these powerful and pretentious statements about human beings the author had concocted to make readers believe they were reading something much more deep than they actually were.
Gaiman's latest novel is a not-always-happy nostalgic look at childhood and youthful memories that I'd give 3.5 stars if possible. Maybe. I dunno.
This is a hard novel to pin down. I've always enjoyed Gaiman's takes on childhood, because he doesn't sugar coat things for his kid characters. Brutal things happen in life, and they happen to children. See the beginning of the Graveyard Book for an example of just how awful life can be for his child protagonists.
But while I appreciate this aspect of Gaiman's storytelling, this particular novel felt a bit safe. You never truly worry for the narrator, partially due to the tale being a reminiscence of an adult about his childhood days. We know he makes it through.
The tale itself is a good one, filled with the little magics of youth, the petty wars with siblings and adults, the adventures that we forget when older. Gaiman writing is top notch here, and I quite liked his take on childhood nostalgia. I guess my main quibble with the tale was its brevity. Because the novel is such a short one, it lacks the gravitas that some of his tale's concepts demand. Gaiman needed more space to expand and expound. It feels like a great Sandman story line expanded to a novel, but one that's too damned short.
Which is a shame, really, because I found the book beautiful, sad, and wistful. I just wanted a lot more of it.
This is a hard novel to pin down. I've always enjoyed Gaiman's takes on childhood, because he doesn't sugar coat things for his kid characters. Brutal things happen in life, and they happen to children. See the beginning of the Graveyard Book for an example of just how awful life can be for his child protagonists.
But while I appreciate this aspect of Gaiman's storytelling, this particular novel felt a bit safe. You never truly worry for the narrator, partially due to the tale being a reminiscence of an adult about his childhood days. We know he makes it through.
The tale itself is a good one, filled with the little magics of youth, the petty wars with siblings and adults, the adventures that we forget when older. Gaiman writing is top notch here, and I quite liked his take on childhood nostalgia. I guess my main quibble with the tale was its brevity. Because the novel is such a short one, it lacks the gravitas that some of his tale's concepts demand. Gaiman needed more space to expand and expound. It feels like a great Sandman story line expanded to a novel, but one that's too damned short.
Which is a shame, really, because I found the book beautiful, sad, and wistful. I just wanted a lot more of it.
I was really looking forward to this novel. I love Neil Gaiman's other works. I'd heard great things about this one and I was so excited to get it from my library.
My first reaction was that it is seemed like a very short book. But no matter, I'd heard it packed a punch.
It started out in Gaiman's regular style, lilting and melodic, with an undercurrent of dread. Slightly strange and disturbing events happen, and the main character (who is never formally named) meets curious but fascinating characters at the end of his road. They help him (or he helps them) fight old forces bent on taking over the world, but I found the whole drama of it thin and unsatisfying.
The outer layer of the novel was solid at the beginning, but I felt it didn't hold up at the end. I love it when novels can pull me into stories and I can suspend belief and fall into extraordinary circumstances with the characters, but I never felt like that with this book. I truly don't understand what other people read in this that made them fall all over themselves with accolades. I actually think this is one of Gaiman's weaker works.
My first reaction was that it is seemed like a very short book. But no matter, I'd heard it packed a punch.
It started out in Gaiman's regular style, lilting and melodic, with an undercurrent of dread. Slightly strange and disturbing events happen, and the main character (who is never formally named) meets curious but fascinating characters at the end of his road. They help him (or he helps them) fight old forces bent on taking over the world, but I found the whole drama of it thin and unsatisfying.
The outer layer of the novel was solid at the beginning, but I felt it didn't hold up at the end. I love it when novels can pull me into stories and I can suspend belief and fall into extraordinary circumstances with the characters, but I never felt like that with this book. I truly don't understand what other people read in this that made them fall all over themselves with accolades. I actually think this is one of Gaiman's weaker works.
Absolutely captivating, vibrant storytelling. I read this as hungrily as I've ever read a book.
4 stars
This book hooks you right from the beginning. I thought it was a really nice story, but it is also a bit weird and strange. However, I really enjoyed the weirdness and strangeness in this book. It is quite short, so if you are not sure about what to read - or not sure if you want to read this book or not- just give it a try.
Recommended!
This book hooks you right from the beginning. I thought it was a really nice story, but it is also a bit weird and strange. However, I really enjoyed the weirdness and strangeness in this book. It is quite short, so if you are not sure about what to read - or not sure if you want to read this book or not- just give it a try.
Recommended!