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A review by deep_in_the_reads
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
2.0
Neverwhere uses the fantasy world of London Below as a metaphor for poverty. Neil Gaiman describes the inhabitants of the hidden, magical society as having “Fallen through the cracks.” Once someone becomes part of London Below, it’s almost impossible to return. Homeless beggars in the regular London act as conduits between the two worlds. London Below has no money and uses a barter system instead; people make a living by ‘renting their bodies,’ whether it be as bodyguards, assassins, or prostitutes. On top of this socio-political subtext, there’s an assassination plot, a girl on the run, and an every-man character caught up in it all. The book starts with so much promise, and I was really excited to like it.
You can imagine my disappointment that Gaiman did very little with the world he set up. The story is like a fetch-quest in a video game: Richard wants to help Door find out why her parents were assassinated. They have to follow clues and go from tunnel to tunnel seeking such-and-such item, which they need to access another clue, which leads them to another item, on and on. The only settings are tunnels, hallways, and the interiors of public London buildings. Every once in a while they encounter the obnoxious villains, but slip away without much trouble. Richard has next to no agency for the entire book. Other than sheltering Door in the beginning, he could’ve been removed from the plot without much effect on the story.
Gaiman’s voice is condescending and smug, similar to children’s writers like Lemony Snicket or Roald Dahl. I found it charming at first but, because a lot of characters talked the same way, the narrative style had nothing to play off of and the style became grating. Characters were one-dimensional and mostly forgettable. I kept pressing on, thinking that there was no way for a book with such a promising start to give up on itself. Unfortunately, Neverwhere just spins its wheels for most of its length.
The sub-narrative about the stigma of homelessness is left unexplored and unresolved, as if Gaiman decided halfway through that it was easier to write Neverwhere as strictly literal. Even viewed as a commentary-free fantasy novel, there’s simply not much here. I think Coraline was a much more solid, imaginative work by Gaiman.
You can imagine my disappointment that Gaiman did very little with the world he set up. The story is like a fetch-quest in a video game: Richard wants to help Door find out why her parents were assassinated. They have to follow clues and go from tunnel to tunnel seeking such-and-such item, which they need to access another clue, which leads them to another item, on and on. The only settings are tunnels, hallways, and the interiors of public London buildings. Every once in a while they encounter the obnoxious villains, but slip away without much trouble. Richard has next to no agency for the entire book. Other than sheltering Door in the beginning, he could’ve been removed from the plot without much effect on the story.
Gaiman’s voice is condescending and smug, similar to children’s writers like Lemony Snicket or Roald Dahl. I found it charming at first but, because a lot of characters talked the same way, the narrative style had nothing to play off of and the style became grating. Characters were one-dimensional and mostly forgettable. I kept pressing on, thinking that there was no way for a book with such a promising start to give up on itself. Unfortunately, Neverwhere just spins its wheels for most of its length.
The sub-narrative about the stigma of homelessness is left unexplored and unresolved, as if Gaiman decided halfway through that it was easier to write Neverwhere as strictly literal. Even viewed as a commentary-free fantasy novel, there’s simply not much here. I think Coraline was a much more solid, imaginative work by Gaiman.