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

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book is magical, terrifying, and heartbreaking. What the main character goes through is extremely dark in a way that I wasn’t expecting. The idea of the book is very interesting, and I was intrigued by the world the author created, but it just wasn’t as memorable as I wanted it to be. I can barely remember the plot to be honest, nor did I quite understand how the magic worked. I think the main things I did enjoy about the book were the emotions it managed to convey. I was truly disturbed, then terrified, then sad, disturbed again,  and terrified again for the rest of it. The writing is beautiful, which is expected of Neil Gaiman, and you can see his genius in it. It just wasn’t my favorite of his works. Still good though.
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