Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Ocean at the End of the Lane

This is my 3rd trek through fiction with Neil Gaiman, and while I did enjoy the story, it doesn't top either Stardust or Coraline. Perhaps my own sentimental attachments are to blame but that's usually the case with me.
I will say that I was intrigued enough to be left wanting more. I however don't often enjoy being left wanting. On the same token, I'm not even sure what more I'd want from it. I just don't feel quite satisfied though, even after listening to the bonus material interview - although I did enjoy that addition very much.
I am a big fan of Children protagonists and their viewpoints, especially as a mother of a 7 year old. I tried to put him into the place of the boy with no name and imagine how he would navigate the events of the book. There's just something magical and free about a child's perspective that I'll always value.

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gxsobes's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.25

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ashleymg99's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

3.5

The description for this book did not do the contents justice - for my first book of 2023, I was sucked in almost immediately when

we begin with the murder of the Opal Miner

. This book reminded me of a Wrinkle in Time. It’s about childhood, growing up, and facing your fears, about love and about an ocean at the end of a lane.

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renettereads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“Lettie shrugged. ‘Nobody looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated than that. It’s true of everybody.”

A man finds himself unexpectedly drawn back to his childhood home and the Hempstock farm at the end of the lane. Once there, he starts to recall a thrilling incident filled with magic and mystery.

This book was my surprising five-star read of 2022. I found it mysterious and ambiguous in the best way in that this entire boy’s world is being turned upside down, and he’s struggling to comprehend it all, and it only felt right that we felt the same reading this story. Though it’s dark, eerie and melancholy almost throughout, there’s a measure of cosiness that reminded me of something like The Witches. I loved the fairytale elements, and Gaiman’s writing, as always, is minimal but expertly done to deliver punchy prose that conjures up the most beautiful imagery.

It’s a book I can see myself going back to over and over again because, despite the fact that I didn’t grow up in England as a boy, there was such a sense of nostalgia. Being that age, scared of everything and struggling to separate adults from bad deeds. I loved the sense of survival in this book, and the Hempstock family absolutely stole my heart.

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