The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

It seems like everyone is talking about the new hot Gaiman title, and for once I am too--at the same time instead of a year late!  I do love Gaiman, though I am a mid-level fan, not an obsessive one.  I've read all his books for years, but I don't buy them the minute they come out or anything, like I would with DWJ.

This is maybe his weirdest story yet, crammed into a small space.  It is typical Gaiman, squared--strange and nightmarish, told from a child's point of view but with the later comprehension of an adult remembering the events--all taken up to a power of 2, if you see what I mean.

The narrator is a middle-aged man who comes back to his home village for a family event, but gets distracted into finding where his old house used to be, and then going up the lane to the farmhouse of a friend he vaguely remembers knowing.  There he is plunged into reliving the experience he had as a small child, when the world turned inside out and this house was his refuge.

It's a gorgeous nightmare of a book.  And really, really strange; it's probably best not to read this as a first Gaiman title.  It makes a great scary Halloween read!

Comments

  1. ArenelSeptember 15, 2013 at 11:31 PM

    Nightmare is the most suitable word. And I agree that it is really scary! While I was not impressed with the birds or the ragged things, the worm and the housekeeper were very, very disturbing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2013 at 5:21 PM

    I love how indebted this book is to Diana Wynne Jones. Its creepiness is very Neil Gaiman, but a lot of the adults' behavior could have come straight from a DWJ book.

    (PS I miss her.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeanSeptember 16, 2013 at 8:13 PM

    That's true, Jenny. The oblivious parents, the angry dad, the caring old granny types...all very DWJ. I miss her too.

    ReplyDelete

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