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nicolinebl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Gaslighting
reads2cope's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
bookthief404's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved how the whole thing was written from the perspective of a small child. I enjoyed realising what was really going on, despite only being told of the events through a child's language.
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, and Car accident
fanchera's review
3.25
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, and Infidelity
madradstarchild'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, and Suicide
emmacartlidge'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
3.75
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Child death
coffeedog14's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Suicide attempt
thecasualbooknerd'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Torture, and Car accident
Moderate: Body horror and Infidelity
carbinara's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Suicide
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: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Suicide