The Ocean at the End of the Lane

by Neil Gaiman

WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 2013 BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the bestselling magical novel from Neil Gaiman, one of the most brilliant storytellers of our generation and author of the epic novel American Gods, and the much-loved Sandman series. 'Possibly Gaiman's most lyrical, scary and beautiful work yet. It's a tale of childhood for grown-ups, a fantasy rooted in the darkest corners of reality' (Independent on Sunday). If you loved the mesmerising world of Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus or were drawn into J.K. Rowling's magical universe, this book is for you.

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond this world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it.

His only defence is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fable that reshapes modern fantasy: moving, terrifying and elegiac - as pure as a dream, as delicate as a butterfly's wing, as dangerous as a knife in the dark.

• ISBN10: 0062255665
• ISBN13: 9780062255662
• Publish Date: 3 June 2014 (first published 18 June 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 208
• Language: English

Reviews

[batsysk]

LOVED this book.
It's really hard one to describe but it made me feel super cosy with hints of unknown, mystery, magic and horror. It was far more than what I expected and it's one of those "I wish I could ready it first time again" books.

I was so immersed in the story, it was just perfect. I do think the illustrations helped me enjoy the story more though.

[mrs_mander_reads]

This was an odd little book. I really enjoyed the audio, but I'm still not sure what I think about it.

[Jyc]

★★★★ // Perhaps there are several ways to read this book (a myth, a fairy tale for grown-ups, etc.) but to me, it was about longing for innocence. As kids, we are conditioned to believe that we will be great when we grow old. Our lives are being shaped towards that one particular image. We're going to be adults who have things figured out. The idea of stumbling, much less feeling sad and momentarily lost, is not acceptable. But the truth is, as well all know, we are far from being perfect. Maybe we even make much more mistakes as adults because we no longer have that innocence that allows us to be carefree. We're afraid to make mistakes as adults because it's much more difficult to be forgiven for it—whether by other people or yourself. The more we're afraid of doing certain things, the more we end up doing them.

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. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.

This story is constructed around a series of 'weird' events that may or may not be real. Just as how most kids would be talking about a friend or a place or anything that they witness, and most adults would dismiss as something imagined. It's almost like a long dream, or maybe it was a memory. No one ever really and completely remembers their childhood. It's always this vague picture. Still, much of what we went through as a child comes back to us one way or another later on in life in different forms. Different, but recognizable. At times, they help us cope with whatever we're going through. Other times, they're like monsters that we can't seem to run away from.

I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from the things or people or moments that hurt, but I found joy in the things that made me happy.

Well, you know, we live on with the memories we wish we could lose.

[tylerrosereads]

For my full review: http://tylerrosereads.com/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-by-neil-gaiman/

Unpopular review time! I spent a lot of this book wondering how it was happening and trying to figure things out that were never explained by the end. I wish we would have gotten more backstory and heard about the land from over the ocean(pond). Maybe this short story turned novel needed some more time growing into it's big boy pages

[brokentune]

I remembered that, and, remembering that, I remembered everything.

It took me a few attempts to get into The Ocean at the End of the Lane but in the end Gaiman won me over again with his unique way to tell imaginative stories with an air of lyrical sadness.

[Kait ✨]

"I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I found joy in the things that made me happy."

[leahrosereads]

This is my first re-read of 2016. It was just as fantastical and frightening as I remembered it, but I found myself enjoying it more this time around.

I saw more of myself in the narrator this time. From his fears of the dark matching my own as a child, to what he went through not even remotely matching my own childhood. But, I had an over-active imagination, and I know that I saw and dreamed up monsters in the shadows and the dark, and maybe it wasn't my imagination but memories.

OK, it was definitely just my imagination, but how terrifying would it be to discover that it was really a memory long forgotten?

Neil Gaiman did an excellent job of giving his seven year old narrator a seven year old's voice. It felt very genuine and really helped keep me completely engaged in the story.

Honestly, I felt that Mr. Gaiman did everything right with this novel. The length felt perfect for this story - I didn't think it dragged or it ended too quickly. The plot and the characters were just spot on, and I was in our narrator's corner 100% of the time. I despised the monsters in this book and hoped that they would meet their demise. And I especially loved the Hempstock women. They were strong, brave, wonderfully magical, brilliant, caring, extraordinary beings.

This is one of those novels that I know I'll continue to re-read in years to come, and one that I would honestly recommend to everyone to try. It's one of my favorite Gaiman works, and I know I haven't read them all yet, but I think it'll stay one of my favorites of his.

This review is becoming a rambling mess, so I'm going to end it. I really, really think you check out [b:The Ocean at the End of the Lane|15783514|The Ocean at the End of the Lane|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351914778s/15783514.jpg|21500681]. Seriously, if you haven't yet, try and get to this book in 2016. It's under 300 pages, and I really don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Hillary]

Neil Gaiman seems to get better and better with each new book. This book was outstanding. I literally couldn't put it down. It is a page turner all the way through but that ending! I am not gonna post it for fear of spoilers but if you have read it I would love to hear your thoughts.

This book took me back to when I was growing up in the central Appalachian Mountains and had my own hidy places. I loved his descriptions of the environment in the book. It felt as if I was right there with the main character who never has a name in the book. That's ok because he does not really need a name. It starts out like a normal fiction book then it adds in the supernatural elements. Yes, books like this require you to suspend disbelief but Gaiman writes so skillfully that this is not at all difficult to do. In this world, all the schematics makes sense so that you are never like, how did THAT happen?

Like I said I really enjoyed this book, but I was awed at the ending. I want to discuss the ending but again spoilers. I will say this, it is interesting how events that happened to you can change shape in your mind. You think you remember it correctly then you revisit it as an adult and find that your environment and who you are and the blocking out painful bits can shape the event in your mind. Things are not always as they seem. Or are they? This got me to thinking about events in my own childhood and how I remember them and I wonder if my memories are clouded with the stuff that I have accumulated along the way.  How many of my really bad memories have been distorted by time? It is interesting to think about.This review was originally posted on Adventures in Never Never Land

[kentholloway]

Simply magical. I've loved many of Gaiman's books. Up until now, it was a toss up between NEVERWHERE, THE ANANSI BOYS, or THE GRAVEYARD BOOK for the top favorite. But I might just have to say that The Ocean at the End of The Lane has solidified itself on my top tier for Gaiman.

Why? It's perhaps as difficult to explain as the nature of the Hempstock women themselves. There was just something very profound...something that tapped deep into the heart of my inner seven year old boy. It was, as Gaiman said, just as children are different from adults: adults always follow an established path, whereas children explore and seek out hidden ways to things unknown. That's precisely the way this book made me feel. I was branching away from the safe, properly constructed roads of modern fiction, and moving in and out of mulberry bushes and shadows and upgrown vegetation to discover a world--within our very own--that is magical and full of wonder.

I loved the main character. I felt so much for that poor boy. That good boy, who only wanted to be happy, but never seemed to get what he wanted until his nose was in a book or if he was holding the hand of the 11-year-old Hempstock girl/woman/entity/ancient one. I was saddened by the fact that he had forgotten and had forgotten once again (if you've read it, you'll know what I mean). But also happy that he had forgotten for the trials he'd endured by the dark creatures.

I loved the mystery of the Hempstock women. Of where all the men had gone? Of the untold Hempstock men's adventures. Of the very nature of what the Hempstock women were. Were they the Fates? Were they some re-arranged version of the Morrigan? Or something else entirely. Thankfully, Gaiman believes in letting the imaginations of his readers get carried away with these things long after the book is finished.

Which brings me to my last point. It's not very rare for me to finish a book, offer a sigh of satisfaction, and then go on to prepare dinner and live my life as normal. It's much rarer when I finish with a sigh, and sit for untold clicks of the clock, absorbing what I'd just read. Marveling in it. Exploring the possibilities of it in mind. Wondering what became of the characters after the book is closed. This book was most definitely one of those.

It's simply a magical tale that will stay with you for a long time afterwards...that is, if you enjoy stories of whimsy and magic.