Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Title:The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Series: n/a
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Fantasy; Horror
Publisher/Publication Date: William Morrow Books; June 18, 2013

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

When I first started reading Neil Gaiman books again, I had a list of stories I really wanted to read. The Ocean at the end of the Lane was one of them. It was good, but it wasn’t my favorite book by this author. So while there were some parts I genuinely liked about the book—like the Hempstock’s and the fantasy elements (namely the duck pond that’s also an ocean)—the story, unfortunately, was one that didn’t click all the way with me.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a story about a middle-aged man recounting memories of his childhood from a time when he was about seven. I didn’t realize at first that the character remained nameless throughout the whole story, and looking back, I didn’t carefully read the synopsis. However, the main character not having a name didn’t bother me in the slightest, due in part to the writing, which was excellent. There was a somber tone to much of the story, because the pivotal events were always somewhat sad and definitely frightening. It was a story about memories, and there was horror and fantasy.

I think my main problem with this one was parts of the story itself. Given that the events are being recounted by the character when he’s older—and how short the book was—the stakes in the story sometimes seemed low. Because I always knew, in the back of my mind, that everything would turn out okay.

Other than that, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was an interesting tale. I liked it, and I will likely read other books by Gaiman in the future.

The Friday 56 (162) & Book Beginnings: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

Beginning: "I wore a black suit and a white shirt, a black tie and black shoes, all polished and shiny: clothes that normally would make me uncomfortable, as if I were in a stolen uniform, or pretending to be an adult."

56: "My laboratory--that was what I called it--was a green-painted shed as far away from the house as you could get, built up against the side of the house's huge old garage."

Comments: I finally read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I liked the story. What are you reading this week?

Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Title: Neverwhere
Series: n/a
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: BBC Books; September 16, 1996

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere....

Neverwhere is one of those books I kept saying I was going to read, but I never got around to it until now. The story was an excellent blend of a time period thoroughly entrenched in a modern time and fantasy elements. It was urban, gritty, and magical all at the same time. And it reminded me a little of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland. Although, it wasn’t a world at the back of a wardrobe, or an odd place following its own rules—or lack of rules—found at the bottom of a hole. No, Neverwhere was set in a place that was closer than anyone would have expected. It was another London, or as it was called in the story, London Below. There was so much I enjoyed about Neverwhere. I guess it was just my kind of story.

Richard Mayhew was a protagonist who, at first, lived a safe and comfortable life. He was a young businessman, and he was in a stable relationship with Jessica, his fiancée. That all changed when he met Door by chance one day. As the synopsis states “there are people who fall through the cracks,” and Richard does indeed become one of them. And when his good deed backfired on him, it was interesting how he handled himself now that his life was irrevocably changed for the worse. I liked the characters in Neverwhere. I don’t want to say too much about the secondary characters, but I have to at least mention Door. Door was a delightful character, and my only regret is that the rest of her family didn’t have a chance to appear on page. Door’s specific ability—a trait known to her family—was one of my favorite aspects about her character.

London Below was such a fascinating place to read about. Like Wonderland, London Below was a mysterious place that followed its own rules. There was a way of life down there, an order to things. So all manner of people and animals and monsters and angels—places seemingly outside of time or reality—existed right below the streets of London. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of awesome.

The story was great and atmospheric. There was action, and there was always a sense of danger to the situations the characters ended up in and the places they went. There was an element of cat-and-mouse to the story: a chase that spanned from the beginning to the end. Speaking of the end, it was open-ended in a way, but I was still satisfied with the conclusion of the story.

So far, Neverwhere is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. And here I thought Coraline would be hard to beat as my favorite book by Gaiman, but I was wrong.

The Friday 56 (159) & Book Beginnings: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks. Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere....

Beginning: "The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself."

56: ""A spy from the Upworld," said the Lord Rat-speaker."

Comments: Neverwhere is one of those books I've been meaning to read for a very long time. Recently, I finally got around to checking it out from the library, and I loved the story. What are you reading this week?

Musing Mondays (52) It's All Historical...

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

Random weekly question: What is the best book you read LAST year?

The beginning of last year was significantly better for me, in terms of reading. 2016 has been pretty hit or miss—mostly hits, but the handful of misses happened back-to-back, and almost had me in a reading slump. Luckily, I avoided that.

Anyway, one of the best books I read last year was Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I was pretty late getting to the book, and I saw the movie before I read it. I liked the ending of the book more than I did the film version—mainly because of the obvious changes—but both were great anyway. The animation from the film was done in one of my favorite styles—stop-motion animation—so that was a big plus. All-in-all, Coraline was a great book.

Other Musings...

Today, I'm  sharing some of my favorite historical fiction, alternative history, and historical fantasy novels/series. Basically, books with settings based in some kind of historical time period no matter how altered, strange, or mysterious. Honestly, historical based novels are something I don’t read enough of, considering how much I tend to enjoy the books. However, I have read enough to compile a short list for today’s post.

• The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
• Wonderstruck, The Marvels, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• The Agency Series by Y.S. Lee
• Kat, Incorrigible series by Stephanie Burgis
• The Diviners by Libba Bray
• Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
• Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

By now, I know which genre’s I immediately reach for, and clearly, I’ve still got some work to do when I pick out books. I still fall into the same pattern of picking fantasy, which is hard to get away from when there are so many books I want to read from that particular genre. It’s a real dilemma sometimes.

Anyway, what are you reading this week?

Review: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library, Hardback
More Details: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: HarperCollins, August 4, 2002

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures...

Coraline by Neil Gaiman was the second book I planned to read in October, the first was The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. I’ve seen the movie and I liked it, so it seems only fitting that I finally got around to reading the actual book. And I have to say that I really liked it. Coraline was a spooky kind of tale complete with ghosts, darkened/mysterious hallways, and more than a handful of creepy creatures—put together, it made for a quick and enjoyable read.

Coraline was just like any other child seeking the attention of her parents, though her efforts were often dismissed as she was repeatedly told to go do other things. So it was only expected that she would end up in some trouble. Coraline finds the other parents, but manages to keep a level head despite getting everything she ever wanted—attention, good food, and fun (a literal example of be careful what you wish for).The other mother was just plain-old creepy with her button eyes, everything she did was just ugh, no-no-no!

The plot moved along quickly as Coraline quickly discovers that all is not right with the other mother and father. Really, the setting played into the atmosphere of the story. The house, which was broken up into different flats, was more or less the perfect stage for the story. Oh, and before I finish this review I have one more thing to say. My favorite part would have to be the ending. It differed from the movie but I have to say that I liked the one in the actual book so much better.

 There are some other series by Neil Gaiman that I'm interested in, so maybe I'll get to them eventually. But for now, overall, there were many things I liked about Coraline.

The Friday 56 (41) Coraline by Neil Gaiman

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Coraline's often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears. Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coralinebegins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures...

"She lit the candlewick with a match and watched it sputter and light, then she picked up the black key."--Coraline by Neil Gaiman 




What's your favorite Halloween candy?