Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

107 reviews

koberreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


Disclosure: I am a male of 20ish of age. And this is my first book by Niel Gaiman. I heard of this author before in the movie and Netflix series that are made, which were inspired by his books.

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"[Gaiman's] mind is a dark, fathomless ocean, and every time I sink into it, this world fades, replaced by one far more terrible and beautiful in which I will happily drown." —New York Times Book Review

I decided to read the book after reading this quote above and felt the truth of what the author quote said after reading it. I, too, would happily drown in this world. 

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Short review: (Non-spoiler)
  • What did you like or dislike?
    • Lettie
    • I experienced great serendipity(unplanned fortunate discovery.) when I realized this was the book where Niel's famous Goodreads quote came from "I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else."
    • His words are too relatable to bookworms like us. And I love it.
    • And it is no surprise that after reading that quote in the Goodreads app loading screen, I decided to read one of his books. I was lucky to discover this quote in this book on kindle unlimited.
    • This book is one of those rare books that terrifies the shit out of me. Even Stephen King never terrifies me like this. Stephen King's freaking clown monster is just a clown to me. And compared to the monster here, that clown of Mr. King is like the unfunny clown in a 5-year-old Bday party. Not even scary but annoying.
    • Octavia Butler was the first one who truly scared the shit out of me. And now, the second Niel.
    • The writings of Neil are both prose and poetry at the same time, and they describe both the mundane everyday things and the magic perfectly out of this world, entirely beyond one's comprehension, things that his dark but wise mind creates. And he weaves all of them, the mundane and magical, into one unified whole in the story. So at first, if you are not spoiled, you would most likely have difficulty understanding who the monster is, the normal person in the story. Or at least you would wonder what actually "are" the characters the protagonist is interacting with
    • Mark Manson is right. Reading fiction is real because it delivers you to a place that would be totally out of your reach if you were not reading fiction. It trains your empathy and wonder, keeps your mind always open, and lessens the chances it becomes close and narrow as it tends to do as you grow older.
    • The mystery of the "world hidden behind the mundane reality of our world" in the story is the kind of mysterious world you will never fully understand, yet you are happy with the story remaining a mystery.
    • I have never been so intrigued and at ease with being in the dark about all that is happening in the book, just like our main protagonist. 
    • Like what Ginnie said: "You can't know everything," I thought the author was depriving us of a truth that we all deserve, but there is wisdom and ease in that. It helps you be at ease with yourself and not be pressured to know everything or have a need to do so. 
    • The sense of wonder and calm of our childhood days that we more or less lose as we grow older is being brought back to us through this lovely, dark, beautiful story of Neil that we are truly children inside a shell of overgrown, overconfident at the same time immensely self-doubting adult bodies.
  • To whom would you recommend this book? 
    • 18 or above. Or a person able to handle family abuse and see the infidelity of parents and child abuse
  • Why did you choose this rating?
    • Because this is my new favorite magic realism novel

Quotes from the book (Non-spoilers): 

"Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. You don't. I don't. People are much more complicated than that. It's true of everybody.

"Nothing's ever the same," she said. "Be it a second later or a hundred years. It's always churning and roiling. And people change as much as oceans."


"Oh, monsters are scared," said Lettie. "That's why they're monsters. And as for grown-ups . . ." She stopped talking, rubbed her freckled nose with a finger. Then, "I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they. always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world."



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Long review: (Spoiler) - Better read this after you read the book because the mystery and the joy of not knowing are too good not to have while you are reading it. You will definitely be spoiled after reading this, 
  • Write everything you want to say

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My favorite quote but a bit of a spolier:



She sat down on the bench on the other side of me, so I was flanked by Hempstock women. She said, "I think Lettie just wants to know if it was worth it."
"If what was worth it?"
"You," said the old woman, tartly.
"Lettie did a very big thing for you," said Ginnie. "I think she mostly wants to find out what happened next, and whether it was worth everything she did."
"She . .. sacrificed herself for me..... Did I pass? 
“You don’t pass or fail at being a person, dear.” I put the empty cup and plate down on the ground. Ginnie Hempstock said, “I think you’re doing better than you were the last time we saw you. You’re growing a new heart, for a start.”



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By chapter 2, I am already in love with Lettie. 

I am already deliciously confused with the Hempstock family. Hahaha and Lettie is the most mysterious and beautiful for me aha trying to figure out why the heck know certain things before hand. I too would not question at first how they knew what a suicidal man thought before he died. They either have foresight or able to sense whatever people thought but only those people within the vicinity of the Hempstock farmhouse.

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After reading Chapter 3, still deliciously confused about the Hempstock fam and the new happening of money giving being. I would like to stay deliciously confused as long as I can as I finish the book.

Lettie is a character that I always written in my head but never had the words to describe it. Her mysteriousness makes her red hear and freckles all the more attractive. I am so glad, I truly dont know anything about this book or it hasnt been turned into a movie or series (That I know off) to spoil me.


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What is Lettie? and her fam? hahahah dont tell me hahahaah

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The worm scene is damn terrifying.

I do think housekeeper ursula is a damn bear or a squid monster lady 

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Ursala and the fucking hungry darkness birds (varmints) are all too fucking terifying 

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Old ms hempstock - Gran 
Is even scarier God damn hhahaha
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emmacartlidge's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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weirdodari's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book captures the essence of childhood wonder and fear, unlike anything I’ve read before.
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cecireads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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c_serpent's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was really good! It didn't change my life, but I liked it. In the audiobook, you can listen to Gaiman sing the things that the narrator sings, which is really fun, actually.

Four stars have been awarded for the prevalence of cats and for mysterious, world-bending female supernatural entities older than the earth itself.  One star is missing because I am the same exact person I was before I read this book.

Total score: 4/5 stars
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coffeedog14's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A nice story short enough for me to read while waiting for a flight, and during said flight, minus a few pages. Neil Gaiman going back to his roots of inscrutable cosmic forces seen through the eyes of small but noble humans. It didn't wow me like alot of his other stuff did, but I enjoyed the vibes. 
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spoopywife's review against another edition

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4.0

The entire book felt like a strange dream where you kind of knew what was happening but also didn't at the same time. Reality meant nothing, just like a child's dream world. Definitely hadn't prepared myself for the body horror, which was my bad. Other than that, I enjoyed the ride I was on, whether or not I knew what was happening all the time. 
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corvusastrum's review against another edition

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4.25

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mommarex1221's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This is my 3rd trek through fiction with Neil Gaiman, and while I did enjoy the story, it doesn't top either Stardust or Coraline. Perhaps my own sentimental attachments are to blame but that's usually the case with me. 
I will say that I was intrigued enough to be left wanting more. I however don't often enjoy being left wanting. On the same token, I'm not even sure what more I'd want from it. I just don't feel quite satisfied though, even after listening to the bonus material interview - although I did enjoy that addition very much. 
I am a big fan of Children protagonists and their viewpoints, especially as a mother of a 7 year old. I tried to put him into the place of the boy with no name and imagine how he would navigate the events of the book. There's just something magical and free about a child's perspective that I'll always value.
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sofiematthe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside.
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