Review - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

 

Genre: Magical Realism 
Kindle Edition - 246pgs
Published June 2013 by William Morrow
Source: Library Ebook
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Rating: 5/5

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.

There is very little I want to say about the plot of this book. If I could just badger you until you pick it up, I would. Before I read the book, I was skeptical since this story is hyped so much. Who hasn't been disappointed by a book that is praised so much? Once I started the story though, my doubts vanished.

The storytelling is magical and masterful. It completely drew me in and I was lost in the story. There are moments where the reader must suspense their disbelief and go with the flow though. The story is short, but I spent a lot of time thinking about it after I finished. Obviously I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say this book is an experience. It is wonderful, odd and unlike anything I've ever read. I cannot wait to read more from Gaiman.

I really enjoy going into books blind and knowing as little as possible. For this book at least, it seemed that was the best approach. It made the story even more mysterious and interesting. I would be very interested to listen to this as an audiobook. The words mesmerized me while I read them and I think an audiobook would have an even stronger effect.

Highly Recommended.