Book: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil GaimanGenre: Paranormal-ish?
Rating:★★★☆☆
For: Review
From: The publisher
It was very exciting when this showed up in the mail the other day. I can't remember, did I request it? Maybe I did, but still, it was cool. I picked it up right away because the size of this one, which is very very small, was just what I needed this past week.
But.. to describe this book? I'm at a loss! I mean, I can tell you that it's about a guy who comes back to his childhood neighborhood and finds himself walking to the house at the end of the lane. He sits down by the "ocean" (pond) and proceeds to remember a very strange occurrence that happened to him when he was seven years old.
That's when he meets the ladies who lived there at the end of the lane.. a girl, a mom and a grandma. They were very strange and wonderful and special. This particular day, the girl took him for a walk and then a strange thing happened and they accidentally ( I think anyway) set lose a bad bad creature. The rest of the book is how they deal with this and solve it.
What a weird story! Now, I'm sure that there is some deep... very very deep... meaning to the whole thing, but I'm just not getting it. Maybe it's because my concentration level is very low right now, and then again, maybe I just don't get the deep things. But I guess you are going to have to go to other reviews to find out what it all means.
For me, it was a cute, quaint little story about this boy and his encounter with these women who appear to be some sort of witches, and the weird things that happened to him that scared him to almost literal death. Yes, it's a bit of a creepy book, and deals with very dark things... not a kid book that's for sure.
But I enjoyed the writing and the style and the story... but mostly, I just didn't' get it.
Bottom line: An interesting strange tale that was just plain weird for me!
Other Reviews:
Interpreting any successful narrative is a bit like seeing light through a prism: a story will reveal new themes and layers depending on the eyes of the individual reader through which it’s being filtered. From Things Mean A Lot
The magic that exists in The Ocean at the End of the Lane is so rich and complex. From The Allure of Books
The perfection of the tale is how Gaiman brings it all together, holding the reader's hand through nostalgia, comfort, sadness, fear and forgetfulness. From We Be Reading
I adore Gaiman and am dying to get my hands on this one. Sounds like it is a bit odd, but most of his books are.
ReplyDeleteThe title is intriguing. I expect something will show up in a review that explains it all.
ReplyDeleteAnn
I've not read any Gaimen but he's been on my radar forever...I so want to pick this one up now to see if I can figure it out!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's you - I always appreciate your insight into the books you read. :) I actually haven't read any Gaiman (yet!) but hear sooooo many good things about his stuff. Not sure where to start!
ReplyDeleteI usually have to read his books more than once in order to "get" them, and I'm sure I'll be reading this one again and again! But I did enjoy it, even though I didn't fully understand it either. That's the joy that is Neil Gaiman! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame you didn't get it that much because I have just read another review which tells that it was a wonderful reading.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any book by this author, but I wanted to read Stardust soon (I watched the film and I loved it!). If I like it, I will probably try this one too.