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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Heel fijn en mooi klein verhaal over vertrouwen en onzelfzuchtigheid.
“Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are things people are scared of. Some of them are things that look like things people used to be scared of a long time ago. Sometimes monsters are things people should be scared of, but aren’t.”
Neil Gaiman is a master at setting an ambiance. The book was a perfect balance of fear and relief. I think it’s worth pointing out that it is magical realism. And the way memory works in it is truly bittersweet. Do read it... it’s worth it.
Neil Gaiman is a master at setting an ambiance. The book was a perfect balance of fear and relief. I think it’s worth pointing out that it is magical realism. And the way memory works in it is truly bittersweet. Do read it... it’s worth it.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for a little while again, but I finally found the motivation to pick it up today. That was definitely a good choice on my part. Almost immediately, I was intrigued by the characters in this story, and sort of trying to figure out what was going to go down. I'm really bad at guessing things regarding the plot of novels, so I wasn't very successful with this one either. I definitely enjoyed how the story unfolded though. It kept me curious and I didn't want to put the book down until I finished.
I thought that it was really interesting to have a book from the perspective of a seven year old. Right off the bat, I expected him to be an unreliable narrator, which was somewhat true by the end of the book. As it was stated at the end of the book, not everyone remembers things the same way.
I liked all of the other characters as well. I wasn't sure if everyone was trustworthy at first (though I obviously knew a certain somebody was bad immediately). I also enjoyed the mystery surrounding the Hempstocks. I was questioning what they were exactly for the entirety of the book, and though it's never technically explained, I think I'm okay with that. I saw one theory in the back of the copy of my book that seemed interesting to me, and I might look more into that later. Regardless, they were really likable AND useful characters, which was nice to see. Honestly, I just love reading about characters with different powers/abilities, so they were really interesting to me.
The book's main antagonist had me on edge a lot of the time. I was never entirely sure what she was going to do next. Though I was quick to hate her thanks to our narrator, I almost felt bad for her near the end of the book. Her vulnerability got to me a bit, though my feelings changed when her previous attitude came back. She definitely played her role as an antagonist well.
Overall, I think that this was a good choice for my first read after Lady Midnight. I wanted something short yet interesting, and I certainly got that from this book. It was also nice that the book was a bit creepy at times. I haven't read much horror lately, so it was a nice change of pace for me. I definitely plan on reading more of Neil's books in the future if they're all as good as this one was (and I know some are supposed to be).
I thought that it was really interesting to have a book from the perspective of a seven year old. Right off the bat, I expected him to be an unreliable narrator, which was somewhat true by the end of the book. As it was stated at the end of the book, not everyone remembers things the same way.
I liked all of the other characters as well. I wasn't sure if everyone was trustworthy at first (though I obviously knew a certain somebody was bad immediately). I also enjoyed the mystery surrounding the Hempstocks. I was questioning what they were exactly for the entirety of the book, and though it's never technically explained, I think I'm okay with that. I saw one theory in the back of the copy of my book that seemed interesting to me, and I might look more into that later. Regardless, they were really likable AND useful characters, which was nice to see. Honestly, I just love reading about characters with different powers/abilities, so they were really interesting to me.
The book's main antagonist had me on edge a lot of the time. I was never entirely sure what she was going to do next. Though I was quick to hate her thanks to our narrator, I almost felt bad for her near the end of the book. Her vulnerability got to me a bit, though my feelings changed when her previous attitude came back. She definitely played her role as an antagonist well.
Overall, I think that this was a good choice for my first read after Lady Midnight. I wanted something short yet interesting, and I certainly got that from this book. It was also nice that the book was a bit creepy at times. I haven't read much horror lately, so it was a nice change of pace for me. I definitely plan on reading more of Neil's books in the future if they're all as good as this one was (and I know some are supposed to be).
the only way i’d have compassion and empathy for an adult is if they were all really “children wrapped in adult bodies, like children's books hidden in the middle of dull, long adult books, the kind with no pictures or conversations.” even though i myself am an adult.
Började på den här boken i total frustration eftersom The House in the Cerulean Sea gjorde mig så förbannad. Hörde nämligen av en vän att de liknar varandra lite grann, de har en fabel-aktig atmosfär, karaktärerna är mindre menade att vara realistiska människoporträtt och kanske mer sagofigurer. Och till min jäkla läsnings-bingo behövde jag en bok som har upprepande ord i titeln vilket denna levde upp till (tre The! skapligt!).
Här hade vi i alla fall guldgruvan. Boken handlar om en man som lämnat en begravning och kör runt planlöst istället för att åka direkt till uppsamlingen som ska ske hos hans syster efter ceremonin. Han hamnar i området där han växte upp, fortsätter sedan längs vägen, och i minnets utkanter börjar något klarna. Saker han glömt. Han stannar till vid huset at the end of the lane, och väl där minns han allt.
Själva berättelsen är alltså de minnen han återuppväcker från sin barndom. Han är sju år gammal, han får en ny vän, men han hamnar också i stor fara.
Kombon av spänning och stämning i boken var så välarbetad. Jag kunde inte sluta läsa både för att jag var så investerad i vad som skulle hända, samtidigt som jag kunde känna en nästan nostalgi för minnesakten huvudkaraktären genomför. Det kändes som att transporteras tillbaka i tiden, och lite som att jag, som läsare, gjorde det med? Jag åkte också tillbaka till min barndom fastän karaktärens upplevelser var helt annorlunda från mina. Den lämnade en sån värme och glädje i min själ efteråt. Otrolig bok.
Här hade vi i alla fall guldgruvan. Boken handlar om en man som lämnat en begravning och kör runt planlöst istället för att åka direkt till uppsamlingen som ska ske hos hans syster efter ceremonin. Han hamnar i området där han växte upp, fortsätter sedan längs vägen, och i minnets utkanter börjar något klarna. Saker han glömt. Han stannar till vid huset at the end of the lane, och väl där minns han allt.
Själva berättelsen är alltså de minnen han återuppväcker från sin barndom. Han är sju år gammal, han får en ny vän, men han hamnar också i stor fara.
Kombon av spänning och stämning i boken var så välarbetad. Jag kunde inte sluta läsa både för att jag var så investerad i vad som skulle hända, samtidigt som jag kunde känna en nästan nostalgi för minnesakten huvudkaraktären genomför. Det kändes som att transporteras tillbaka i tiden, och lite som att jag, som läsare, gjorde det med? Jag åkte också tillbaka till min barndom fastän karaktärens upplevelser var helt annorlunda från mina. Den lämnade en sån värme och glädje i min själ efteråt. Otrolig bok.
Gaiman’s novel, as with many of his ‘young adult’ fare, treads the line between amusing and creepy as hell. When strange things begin happening around his neighborhood, the narrator (a ten-year-old boy), finds himself under the wing of Lettie Hempstock, an odd girl from up the lane. Along with her mother and her grandmother, Lettie explains that a malevolent creature has entered the world and begun weaving subtle miseries into the lives of those around it. When the narrator and Lettie endeavor to fight the creature, things go from bad to worse, and then worse again, and so on.
A few thoughts:
- As always, Gaiman’s novels aren’t just stories, but meditations on life and its complexity. As the protagonist remembers the events from his childhood, he also reflects on the relationships of his child-self to his parents, the janus-faced housekeeper, and the daily terrors that shape a young person’s life.
- The women in the house at the end of the lane tap into an old archetype, the three women who control the world. In particular, these seem to evoke the three fates of Greek mythology, but they also remind me of the ladies from A Wrinkle in Time.
- Gaiman’s particular gifts for horrors that winkle in and out of the everyday is in full force here. I put the scare quotes around ‘young adult’ at the beginning of my review because the creepy parts of this story are downright terrifying. The standout moment for me is the boy’s matter-of-fact self-surgery in the washroom. Holy hell.
I recommend Gaiman’s work via audiobook if that’s something you enjoy. His sonorous tones and gentle reading style are lovely to listen to, and they provide another level of interpretation on the text that’s just great. Well worth a read.
A few thoughts:
- As always, Gaiman’s novels aren’t just stories, but meditations on life and its complexity. As the protagonist remembers the events from his childhood, he also reflects on the relationships of his child-self to his parents, the janus-faced housekeeper, and the daily terrors that shape a young person’s life.
- The women in the house at the end of the lane tap into an old archetype, the three women who control the world. In particular, these seem to evoke the three fates of Greek mythology, but they also remind me of the ladies from A Wrinkle in Time.
- Gaiman’s particular gifts for horrors that winkle in and out of the everyday is in full force here. I put the scare quotes around ‘young adult’ at the beginning of my review because the creepy parts of this story are downright terrifying. The standout moment for me is the boy’s matter-of-fact self-surgery in the washroom. Holy hell.
I recommend Gaiman’s work via audiobook if that’s something you enjoy. His sonorous tones and gentle reading style are lovely to listen to, and they provide another level of interpretation on the text that’s just great. Well worth a read.
I have been a huge fan of Neil Gaiman ever since deciding to pick up the book Coraline, some time after watching the film one of many times. Just as Coraline did, this book picks up facts about childhood, and makes them so unbelievably magical that it is just real enough to believe. I am never sure if it is the skill of choosing and aligning the words in the right way, or just an incredible talent to tell stories in general, but Neil Gaiman has yet to disappoint me, as all I've read of him was so perfectly enchanting that I could not properly dislike any of it.
This book impressed me and I believe it taught me about growing up more than I ever expected to be possible.
This book impressed me and I believe it taught me about growing up more than I ever expected to be possible.