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oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
notalightbulb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Infidelity and Animal death
royalty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity, Gore, and Gaslighting
brookey8888's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Infidelity, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
batcaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
leonormsousa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
REPRESENTATION
REVIEW
I had very high expectations for this book and that's maybe why I ended up so disappointed with it. I definitely can see where the author was going and I can even understand why so many people loved it, but for me personally, it fell a bit short. Like one of my favourite books ever, The Shining by (the) King, it dwells on how children use their imagination to deal with trauma, leaving the reader to choose to believe or not in the fantastical elements of the story. And maybe because that is a topic that I absolutely love, I would have liked to see it explored in a deeper way. In relation to the adventure of the plot, it was interesting but it somehow didn’t pull me in, although I did like the two principal characters. The fantastical part was interesting and original, but 184 pages were, for me, not enough to explore its full potential. All in all, I did enjoy myself and I’m hoping that in a future reread (with the original English instead of the translated Portuguese like this time) I will fall in love with this book like I always expected.
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, and Violence
roraisabella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, and Infidelity
meliemelo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I reread this book before going to see the incredible, amazing play based on it. Thus, this read had much of a "how will they translate that on stage" feel to it (the answer? very creatively and so, so well, even better than anything I could have expected). Yet, I found myself fully absorbed once more by the story. It truly is a very special book to me.
-----
(2018 reread)
I was at the bookshop, looking for books to complete my Goodreads challenge, when I saw it: a nice paperback edition of the book that had touched me so profoundly years ago, and that I didn't own yet. So I got it. And read it again.
It's still deep, the connection I have to this book, to this story, the way it speaks to me. Neil Gaiman is an amazing writer, and one of my favourite authors, but this is different. I relate to parts of the story, and not just the ones that don't feel like fiction: I relate to the supernatural parts too, the way they reshape reality. It's not just the kind of books I love to read. It's the kind of book I want to write, someday.
----
(original 2014 read)
I was really touched by this book. Neil Gaiman uses childhood memories to create something and it's both beautiful and terrifying. It's a kind of [b:Lunar Park|4031|Lunar Park|Bret Easton Ellis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1385309748s/4031.jpg|1374605], though I wouldn't be able to tell you which of the two books is scarier. I read them at two different parts of my life, and as much as Lunar Park disturbed me I don't think it was as profoundly as The Ocean at the end of the lane. I saw bits of myself in this book, small echoes.
And even without that, I loved it. I loved every single page of it.
Graphic: Child abuse, Body horror, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Child death
some_things_cosmic's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, and Death
Minor: Suicide
mscalls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, and Death