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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
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.
Will have to chew on this for a while…read it in two sittings and it was not at all what I expected it to be. It’s a strange, chilling musing on childhood with lots of mysterious magical elements that left me wondering if it really happened or if the kid is just trying to cope via imagining things. Will definitely check out other Gaiman novels at some point
The writing of this book is probably some of the best writing I've ever read. The plot is decent, but the beautiful words used to tell this story made this book a thousand times more worthwhile. I do recommend this, especially if you are into fantasy or storybook like magic.
emotional
sad
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
