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A review by saritaroth
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
5.0
I must say that I was reluctant to read this book; I have tried to read a couple of Neil Gaiman's books with no success. They just did not grab me. One book may be an anomaly, but I felt that two might actually be a fundamental discord between me as a reader and Gaiman as an author. Boy, was I wrong? This book pulled me in from the very beginning and did not spit me back out until the very end; it may, in fact, stay with me well beyond the last page read.
This book is told from the perspective of an average London man by the name of Richard Mayhew. Early in the story, he is walking down the street with his fiancee, Jessica (Richard calls her Jess, but she HATES the nickname), when they both encounter a girl who is lying on the sidewalk bleeding. Richard wants to stop and help this girl, but Jessica refuses emphatically, pointing out that they will be late for their dinner reservation. After a brief altercation, Richard insists, and Jessica saunters off in a huff. Little does he know that his life is about to change irrevocably. He is quickly catapulted into the life of the creatures, both human and nonhuman, living in a community that he never knew existed, one called London Below. Those living in London Below call London proper London Above. Richard finds that he must help the girl, Door, who is being pursued by two assassins/torturers named Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, among other nefarious characters.
I felt that this book was a real rollercoaster ride of emotions and action. I did hear that it was banned at one New Mexico high school pending review due to complaints from parents regarding sexual content, but I found that the sexual content was negligible. For me, the violence perpetrated on innocents by Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar was a lot more graphic and stayed with me a lot longer than any brief sexual encounter that might have occurred. I know, however, that everyone is allowed to have an opinion, and I understand that parents often feel the need to fight for the well-being of their kids. I highly recommend this book; I also heard that there was a British TV show made based on this book. I am going to try my hardest to track down that show, because I would love to watch it.
This book is told from the perspective of an average London man by the name of Richard Mayhew. Early in the story, he is walking down the street with his fiancee, Jessica (Richard calls her Jess, but she HATES the nickname), when they both encounter a girl who is lying on the sidewalk bleeding. Richard wants to stop and help this girl, but Jessica refuses emphatically, pointing out that they will be late for their dinner reservation. After a brief altercation, Richard insists, and Jessica saunters off in a huff. Little does he know that his life is about to change irrevocably. He is quickly catapulted into the life of the creatures, both human and nonhuman, living in a community that he never knew existed, one called London Below. Those living in London Below call London proper London Above. Richard finds that he must help the girl, Door, who is being pursued by two assassins/torturers named Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, among other nefarious characters.
I felt that this book was a real rollercoaster ride of emotions and action. I did hear that it was banned at one New Mexico high school pending review due to complaints from parents regarding sexual content, but I found that the sexual content was negligible. For me, the violence perpetrated on innocents by Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar was a lot more graphic and stayed with me a lot longer than any brief sexual encounter that might have occurred. I know, however, that everyone is allowed to have an opinion, and I understand that parents often feel the need to fight for the well-being of their kids. I highly recommend this book; I also heard that there was a British TV show made based on this book. I am going to try my hardest to track down that show, because I would love to watch it.