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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
This book has taken my soul for the next 11 months
Ok, Self-Professed Gaiman Stan and everything but this is a wonderful book. I read it when it first came out 8 years ago and just didn’t remember much about it, honestly. I knew I had liked it but nothing stuck out. Well, everything stuck out this time. Such a harrowing little story with such great characters scattered about.
And the FOOD! Every meal served by the Hempstocks made me legitimately hungry.
It’s short but it’s sweet and packs a nice punch. It perhaaaaaps is occasionally too reminiscent of Coraline. Plenty of similarities, but more than enough to distinguish itself.
And the FOOD! Every meal served by the Hempstocks made me legitimately hungry.
It’s short but it’s sweet and packs a nice punch. It perhaaaaaps is occasionally too reminiscent of Coraline. Plenty of similarities, but more than enough to distinguish itself.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I really tried getting into this one and I just could not do it :/
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
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
When a boarder in his house commits suicide, things start going horribly wrong for the young, unnamed narrator of "Ocean at the End of the Lane." Turns out, ancient, dark forces (!!!) were released by the boarder's death, and only the narrator and the strange family of ageless women living in the farmhouse at the end of the lane can stop them...BEFORE THE WHOLE WORLD IS EATEN OUT OF EXISTENCE!! But will they succeed?!
I admire Neil Gaiman. He's the sort of writer I want to be, in lifestyle if not in style. He goes around looking handsome with wild hair and black coat and has a rock star spouse, lots of interesting friends, a Hogwarts-like personal library, a cabin in the woods to write in (the sort you imagine an author should have: dog, rug, fireplace, dark wood, tea), homes in all the best cities of England and the U.S., and a $60,000 an hour speaking fee. I read his blog and follow his online presence and when I think of a Writer, I think of someone like him.
That being said, he has a tendency for occasional melodrama that I've never cared for. It worked well in Sandman, which was meant to be huge and epic, but doesn't always succeed in his fiction. If I rated "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" on another day, I might've given it a four, but today I'm cranky and didn't have patience for his Neil Gaimanyness (Exhibit A: "The ripped face, the place where the face should've been, twisted. I thought it was smiling. Perhaps it was smiling. I felt as if it was examining me, taking me apart. As if it knew everything about me -- things I did not even know about myself." Dunh Dunh DUNH!).
Eh, what am I saying? Gaiman's masterful and knows what he's doing and this quick, 178-page novel -- landing somewhere between the YA and Adult sections -- was a fun end-of-summer read that will appeal to all lovers of Gaiman's other work, literary fantasy fiction in general, and/or little magical kittens who appear out of nowhere and fall asleep purring on your pillow, adorable reminders that in a world full of darkness and fear, hope remains.
I admire Neil Gaiman. He's the sort of writer I want to be, in lifestyle if not in style. He goes around looking handsome with wild hair and black coat and has a rock star spouse, lots of interesting friends, a Hogwarts-like personal library, a cabin in the woods to write in (the sort you imagine an author should have: dog, rug, fireplace, dark wood, tea), homes in all the best cities of England and the U.S., and a $60,000 an hour speaking fee. I read his blog and follow his online presence and when I think of a Writer, I think of someone like him.
That being said, he has a tendency for occasional melodrama that I've never cared for. It worked well in Sandman, which was meant to be huge and epic, but doesn't always succeed in his fiction. If I rated "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" on another day, I might've given it a four, but today I'm cranky and didn't have patience for his Neil Gaimanyness (Exhibit A: "The ripped face, the place where the face should've been, twisted. I thought it was smiling. Perhaps it was smiling. I felt as if it was examining me, taking me apart. As if it knew everything about me -- things I did not even know about myself." Dunh Dunh DUNH!).
Eh, what am I saying? Gaiman's masterful and knows what he's doing and this quick, 178-page novel -- landing somewhere between the YA and Adult sections -- was a fun end-of-summer read that will appeal to all lovers of Gaiman's other work, literary fantasy fiction in general, and/or little magical kittens who appear out of nowhere and fall asleep purring on your pillow, adorable reminders that in a world full of darkness and fear, hope remains.
A decent story, but it started losing me in the end a little. I liked it though.
This is my first Gaiman for grown-ups. At first I wasn't actually sure what kind of book it was going to be, so I had to go back to Amazon and look up the description. But once I realized that it was indeed supposed to be more fantasy, I settled right in and really enjoyed it! Very fun and entertaining.
