REVIEW: The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

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The Ocean At The End Of The Lane 

by Neil Gaiman

(Spoilers)

★★★★★

Review by Tayla Lauren

(Discovering The Books Of The Universe)

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane Neil Gaiman 240 pages

10.36 @ The Book Depository (April 2014 Edition)

NOTE: Please forgive my very unstructured review. 

I put this book down thirty seconds ago, and already (like all of Gaiman's novel's that I've had the pleasure of reading) I have an overwhelming urge to pick it back up again and re-read cover to cover. Gaiman's latest novel, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is no different. Gaiman (as always) has presented readers with a unique and gripping storyline that will most certainly stay with you for a very long time. As this is Gaiman's first 'adult' novel in eight years, one would expect it to be slightly rusty--I think not. 

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane shows readers a tale told through the eyes of a seven year old boy, (whose name is only ever mentioned once in passing as 'George'--'Handsome George' to be precise) in a reality such as our own, however with a slight twist of fate that seems less out of the ordinary than it would normally be. Although our story opens with George as a fully grown man, living a life of his own before returning to his own home town to revisit the house which he spent a long, frighfull summer with Lizzie Hempstock. 

Neil Gaiman's wonderful and intriguing writing style draws readers into his story, into a world much like our own. Lettie Hempstock is a peculiar girl from the end of the lane. After discovering his first dead body, our male protagonist (a boy of only seven years of age) is drawn into a strange string of events--seemingly unattached in their happenings, but conveniently placed throughout the story. Our hero is not of regular consequence--he is not an attractive teenage male, but a small bookish boy filled with curiosity and questions. A refreshing setting. 

With the arrival of a new 'Nanny' for George and his sister during their parents working absence, new danger unfolds, which he finds himself in a struggle to escape. Ursula, the live-in Nanny, is the epitome of childrens fears of all carers besides their own flesh and blood--and lives up to those nightmare-ish feelings during the course of the story. With important side line characters including Old Mrs Hempstock and Ginnie Hempstock, The Ocean At The End Of The Lane leaves many questions unanswered as to the exact nature of these people. 

The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is told through the eyes of a child and beautifully portrays the innocence of a young mind. Through even the darkest and most shocking of scenario's (ones that would leave older people feeling lost, confused or even a great deal of hatred) are brushed over and almost unthought of by George. Gaiman writes this in a way that it can be easily interpreted by his readers, however still heartwrenchingly beautiful and tragic. 

“Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.” 

-  The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman, 2013

Overall, this novel oozes a theme of innocence and interpretation of a child's mind. Gaiman even speaks at length throughout the course of the novel, the innermost workings of the mind--an adult's mind is blank, they don't explore, they have no interest. A child's mind, however is constantly working, always seeking out new and fascinating courses. 

Although this book is of the sci-fi genre, it felt--through Gaiman's brilliant writing--as if it was real. As if something like this was completely plausible, just as a previous children's release of his, The Graveyard Book (which I read and love love loved) seemed to be. 

I will definitely come back to this book, over and over and over and over just as I have to all of Gaiman's work's that I have read throughout my life. I gave The Ocean At The End Of The Lane a 5 out of 5 stars, and it is so very, very deserving of that. I look forward to any and all of Gaiman's releases in the future, as well as reading many of his other works that I have not finished. 

This book is a must read. Read it now. Stop what you're doing right now, go out and buy it. You won't regret it. 

All the best,

Tayla.