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

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

Edit: just found out this guy is a monster. It will be my last Gaiman book, smh. 



“Adults follow paths. Children explore.” 

The story telling in this is so exceptional that I didn’t realize until after completion that we’re never told the narrator’s name. Sorcery! I was immediately captivated by how Gaiman painted his child vs adult theme. This book brought to mind all the horrors that children witness and stay silent about, while adults think their kids are none the wiser. Gaiman has a way of showing (not telling) the heartbreaking truth of a situation that I immensely enjoy. The narrator learning that his bum ass dad never liked burnt toast was truly eye opening to how adults can commit such senseless acts of neglect and think nothing of it. Extraordinary storytelling. 

The climax did not wow me, even though I really really wanted it to. The heroic event in this is too similar to Narnia’s. It was too obvious for me and I would have liked more wonder. The unexplained mythology is unfortunate, but I don’t think it harms the novel in an unforgiving way. 

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