The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Book Review

Ocean at the End of the Lane

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Published April 8th 2014 by Harper (first published June 18th 2013)

181 Pages

Goodreads Summary:
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 where she once lived, 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.

A groundbreaking work as delicate as a butterfly’s wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out.

 

Review:
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this book.  I’ve read so many rave reviews and really didn’t want it to get my hopes up.  My husband is a fan of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels but I haven’t read any Gaiman myself.  After reading this book, I will definitely be getting my hands on any book Gaiman has written.  The Ocean At the End of the Lane was so incredibly vivid and dreamlike.  It reminded me of so many nightmares I’ve had recurring over the years.  I love the imagination that it took to create this story.  The story shows just how much imagination children have.  Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait to read my next Gaiman book.

4/5 Stars

Check out The Ocean at the End of the Lane and give it a read.

 

 

Guest review contributed by The Worn Bookmark. Maren posts book reviews and tags, and she participates in challenges and read-a-thons. A book store or library is her paradise.

15 thoughts on “The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Book Review”

  4. This was probably the best book I read last year. It was absolutely marvelous. I initially did not like Neil Gaiman until I read Stardust, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then I read Ocean and oh my goodness…it was amazing. I added nearly every Gaiman book to my Goodreads list after that.

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  6. I adore Neil Gaiman’s writing and this one was a great one! I really enjoyed American Gods and Anansi Boys, too, if you’re wondering which of his books to read next.

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  10. I know I’m in the minority but when I read this book (over a year ago) I really disliked it. It was one of my least favorite books of 2014. It makes me nervous to try some of Gaiman’s other books. Please post reviews for his other content if you do end up reading them!

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