A review by maelstrom_of_emotions
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

  "You don't pass or fail at a being a person, dear.” 

This story doesn’t just remind me of my childhood; it is my childhood. Whenever people spoke of this book, they often said it felt as if it were whispering to them about their own childhoods—even if the events within never truly happened to them. I was skeptical, but after reading it, I understand their sentiments completely.

When all is said and done, this story is about you. You will recognize that the moment you delve into it.  The words nestle between your lungs, close to your heart, as though they have come home. And though, the precise events may not be yours, and though you've maybe never experienced these things firsthand, may have never experienced choking up silver shillings and pulling out ocean-eyed cats from the ground, I wholeheartedly believe that you will know them for what they are—pieces of the person you once were, pieces of the person you have become.

This story is heartbreaking in its aching tenderness as it breaks you apart, piece by piece, bit by bit. Until all you have left is a person made from sheer stubbornness and scar tissue. And it is that aching feeling that carries over once you've read it and you realize the world continues to spin with perfect indifference as though nothing had happened when it feels as though you can never look at the world the same again. And if there's one thing I truly regret about reading this book, it's that I shall never experience the feeling of reading this book for the first time.

This story is about lonely birthday parties and trauma. Of lost pets and burnt toast. Of childhood trauma and the deep unsettling horror that is familiar as your own mind. Of a duck pond the size of an ocean.

This is the story of your childhood.