Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

A middle-aged man returns home to attend a funeral, where he finds previously forgotten memories beginning to return...

“Adults follow paths. Children explore.”

I went into this one thinking it would become an all-time favourite - and there is still the potential that it WILL become one - but it fell JUST short of the mark for me on this read. Everything was incredible - the writing, the themes, the imagery, the villain... my only issue was that I was left scratching my head every now and again? I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on at times and had to reread parts to try and follow the narrative.

Now maybe that was just a case of me stop-starting this one during a busy week, or maybe not everything is meant to be clear, but it did affect my enjoyment a little. This is why I feel like I might end up simply adoring it on a subsequent reread, therefore achieving that all-time fave status.

The main character himself is also one that a lot of bookworms will be able to relate to - “I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” Then you have the fascinatingly intriguing family that live in the farmhouse down the lane. And the villain is TERRIFYING! Especially when you consider the fact our protagonist doesn’t have his parents to turn to :(

One can never fault Gaiman’s writing - books where you want to highlight nearly every sentence because the writing is so bloody beautiful are precious to me! As for the commentary on memory and childhood, I will always savour the exploration of those themes.

All in all, a wonderful book that is worthy of a future reread. 4 stars.

Johann

x