Ben reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Nice visuals, thin plot
3 stars
Beautifully written and descriptive farm setting.
Paperback
English language
Published June 18, 2013 by Headline Review.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by Neil Gaiman
4 stars
(44 reviews)
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.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly …
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.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
A groundbreaking work from a master, 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. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
CountStex reviewed Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A truly charming tale that kept me intrigued the entire time. Though a child of the 70s as opposed to the 60s I still saw enough in the joy of my childhood in Neil's world that the world touched my soul in wonderful ways.
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A marvelous blend of fantasy and recollection. The tone is intimate and heartfelt, and thoroughly delighted.
Cheri reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I really loved the book. Really truly.
Review of "L'océan au bout du chemin" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Magnifique. Je crois que je vais demander Neil Gaiman en mariage à la longue. Une superbe histoire, un glissement tout en douceur vers un autre monde pas si différent du nôtre et pourtant étrange, entouré de mystères. Tout en douceur, en poésie, un magnifique conte d'enfance. A lire absolument.
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Unfortunately this book reminded me too much of Coraline for me to really enjoy it, although I would venture to say this one is the better of the two. It had a bit more of a grown up feel to it and I liked how the fantastical elements related more closely to traditional myths. I also liked how Gaimen and the main character are almost the same person, but not quite. Overall a good respite from the other book I am currently reading, Crime and Punishment, and an interesting book to compare to another recent read The Princess and the Goblin.
JungleGeorge🌳 reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
In short this book had so many beautifully descriptive sentences weaved together. I just loved it.
JohnnyCache reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I don't know what is wrong with me and my taste in books. It started not long ago with The Luminaries. Everybody loved it... except for me. Then it was The Hundred Year Old Man, which was universally adored (but I hated it). I was so pumped to see that The Golem And The Jinni was getting fantastic reviews and was so excited to dive in, but it did absolutely nothing for me. Now, I see that Patrick Rothfuss (yes, Patrick Frickin' Rothfuss!) gave a glowing review of Neil Gaiman's latest (Neil Frickin' Gaiman!!!). And the book was... what, exactly? I really don't know. Maybe I need to give it time to see of it will grow on me. It seemed sort of boring, missing all do the soul that was in Coraline and The Graveyard Book. This really seemed like it should have been a short story. It was …
I don't know what is wrong with me and my taste in books. It started not long ago with The Luminaries. Everybody loved it... except for me. Then it was The Hundred Year Old Man, which was universally adored (but I hated it). I was so pumped to see that The Golem And The Jinni was getting fantastic reviews and was so excited to dive in, but it did absolutely nothing for me. Now, I see that Patrick Rothfuss (yes, Patrick Frickin' Rothfuss!) gave a glowing review of Neil Gaiman's latest (Neil Frickin' Gaiman!!!). And the book was... what, exactly? I really don't know. Maybe I need to give it time to see of it will grow on me. It seemed sort of boring, missing all do the soul that was in Coraline and The Graveyard Book. This really seemed like it should have been a short story. It was just a swing and a miss for me. At least there are about 7 billion other people out there who loved the book. Don't let me stop you from reading it. Statistically speaking, you'll probably love it.
I don't even know that I really feel that three stars is fair for this, but I'd just feel dirty giving two stars to Neil Gaiman.
Chetana reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Actual Rating 3.5
Mark reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Beautiful, moving, evocative, utterly disturbing. Inexplicably brings to mind parts of my own half remembered childhood. Is it an ocean at the end of the lane, or just a pond?
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A harrowing nightmare tale with heart told through the memories of the narrator as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane near his childhood home. I loved being with the Hempstocks and I recognize them/her from earlier tales and ages. The cosmology is enchanting; I'd enjoy spending more time in this world. At the end, though, the book lifts up notions of worth and being "good enough" that made the story even more meaningful for me ... and perhaps also for you.
