Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Book Review: 'The Ocean At The End Of The Lane' by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed this. I usually just plod my way through a book, a chapter or two at a time, but not this one. Once I got sucked into the story - a middle aged man who has returned to his old hometown for a funeral, is drawn back to the farm at the end of the lane and as he sits by the pond there he remembers the past of what happened there when he was 7 - I was away and finished the book in just over a weekend (which is very quick for me!).

To me, it's typically Gaiman. Very haunting, sometimes creepy but also very compelling and interesting enough to get lost in the story. It felt more akin to 'The Graveyard Book' than say, 'American Gods' - a young protagonist mixed up in a magical world - and the fact that it started out as a short story that was expanded to novel size (181 pages), could probably partly explain the feeling of it feeling a bit too short too. But the best stories don't always have to be complex or very long, and to me 'Ocean' proves it. It's definitely well worth a read!

**** out of 5

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