The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Ratings1,021
Average rating4
Heel fijn sprookje voor volwassenen, gruwelijk op de juiste momenten (de bad-scene!) en als een warme deken op andere.
Man ontvlucht een bruiloft en gaat naar het huis van zijn jeugd, wat vervolgens een herinnering? droom? geeft over een langzaam steeds erger worden situatie thuis wordt toen hij zeven jaar oud was. Een dapper en doortastend buurmeisje sleurt hem er (soms letterlijk) doorheen...
(wel de versie met illustraties lezen!)
Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman - The greatest writer of modern fairy tales writes again. The unnamed boy of the story meets the Hempstock women. And unintentionally unleashes a dark power which has to be put back or the world will be destroyed. Very good story.
Click through for my full review on my blog http://bookwi.se/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-by-neil-gaiman/
Here is my second review http://bookwi.se/ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-2/
I drop it a star as well. I still like the book, but not as much the second time.
This is the first Neil Gaiman book I've read, and although I am familiar with his other works, I will say this is not a bad book. I find his ideas to be creative, and this book does feel like my childhood with make believe stories and wonder. I will also say this is not the best book, it's decent. I sometimes felt that the ideas were never concrete and solid, mentioned here and there, but never enough to have an entire grasp of it.
I tried to excuse it with it being told from the memory of the unnamed narrator, yet there were instances where it felt convenient that he could explain it or not at all. The ending in a way allows this excuse to be considered, as we see he does not remember times he was down the lane in his twenties and thirties. However, the narrator would give details about small things of his childhood that at times confused me.
I enjoyed the concept of the ocean and of the Hempstocks, I think having a sense of mystery with them makes sense because it was nicely balanced with what they do share of them. I would say they are what are reminiscent of childhood stories and remind me of the times when I would play with my toys. This book feels like a story you would make up as a child, I mean that in both a good and a bad way, it is a nice, light read and pretty easy to follow.
Seeing things from the mind of a seven year old... a dark and realistic world with the pain and grief associated with life's events. The story captivated me from start to finish and I'm adding a star to my rating because I'm sure that I remember the monsters and the crazy world of magic from my childhood... maybe I read this when I was a lot younger? Or it was read to me? In any case, it became more and more familiar to me as I read, which added to the world of magic!
This book felt like childhood in the greatest and most terrible ways. Equal parts whimsical and visceral, it's packed with so many moments and descriptions that are so well drawn they feel like they're plucked from your own memory, whether you've lived them or not. It captures all the bigness and smallness of what it feels like to be a kid, in this magnificent melting pot of innocence, resilience, wonder and fear. This was really something special and despite not being a rereader I have a feeling I'll be returning to this one.
“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 took joy in the things that made me happy.”
“You don't pass or fail at being a person”
Very easy one of the best books I've ever read. Not a single page wasted and I already can't wait until the next time I read it.
i just got bored... promising beginning but the yawning began when the most uninteresting villain i've ever encountered appeared on the page...
This story is creepy and dark and yet somehow still manages to keep a childlike sense about it. It's slightly bizarre, in true Neil Gaiman fashion, and borders more on nightmarish than on whimsical imagination, but is a fast-paced ride that will keep you turning pages. I feel like I stumbled on a corner of Britain that holds old magic and dark pathways or portals to places beyond our reality. Pulled into a dark and surreal realm where you're not quite sure what is reality and what is fantasy, or do they mirror each other? I'm only realizing now that the narrator is never named!! And yet he is the core of the book and seeing the story unfold through his eyes, a 7-year-old's eyes, gives it that childlike sensibility and a viewpoint that captures a child's view of the adult world so vividly and well. It also made me revisit memories of my own childhood where I took paths less trodden through field and marsh, over and under fences and through forests, imagining them as fantastical places, giving it an almost nostalgic feeling. I think it was the perfect quick read for fall!
4.5 stars — This was beautiful, haunting and melancholic. I think a dark fairy tale is an apt description of this novel. It uses many fairy tale conventions, but not in a cliche way. There are witches, magic. But yet the words witches and magic are never once uttered in the duration of this book. It's very much an adult fairy tale, with scary depictions of child abuse, contrasted with an supernatural ocean as a backdrop.
This is my first Gaiman book I've read, and gosh, his writing style is so memorising. Absolutely gorgeous.
This reads like a memoir, since in some ways it is, it borrows from Gaiman own childhood, but not too much and still stands as an original story. This memoiric style of writing is then intertwined with this enchanting idyllic fairy tale. It works well, and creates a great magical realism story.
Honestly I'm still left a little stunned from this story. It's just so beautiful? Yet dark. It's a dark fantasy, a fairy tale, magical realism and a memoir all in one. It also feels like a Ghibli movie. And yes that's high praise. Similar to a Ghibli great, it's about childhood, with spirits and monsters. It depicts the brutal parts of life, but then there's the kind Hempstocks witches. Their world may be strife with danger, but their home feels like a cozy recluse where they serve warm food. I actually stopped reading mid-way in this book, and reimagined the story as frames of a Ghibli film.
I read the illustrated edition of this book, and the art was gorgeous. Fairy tales are so often accompanied by childlike illustrations. But Hurst's illustrations are dark and sinister. No colour at all. Some pages are black, with white text. It works so well with the tone of this book. Made the book so much more melancholic.
Also there's a stage adaptation of this work, and it's visiting my area soon. I've heard the stage version is even better than this book, so I might try and find the tickets. May edit this review if so!
This book is magical, terrifying, and heartbreaking. What the main character goes through is extremely dark in a way that I wasn't expecting. The idea of the book is very interesting, and I was intrigued by the world the author created, but it just wasn't as memorable as I wanted it to be. I can barely remember the plot to be honest, nor did I quite understand how the magic worked. I think the main things I did enjoy about the book were the emotions it managed to convey. I was truly disturbed, then terrified, then sad, disturbed again, and terrified again for the rest of it. The writing is beautiful, which is expected of Neil Gaiman, and you can see his genius in it. It just wasn't my favorite of his works. Still good though.
What a great read. I didn't realize how allegorical this was until I was about half-way through.
Couldn't put it down.
Very good! So many good and meaningful pieces here. I think I just need a bit for all my thoughts and emotions to settle. It's that kind of book!
Very good! So many good and meaningful pieces here. I think I just need a bit for all my thoughts and emotions to settle. It's that kind of book!
On the edition I read there is a blurb on the back by Joanne Harris that says “Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up, heart and soul.”
I don't think this book could be summed up any better than that. It's a engrossing story that has an atmosphere that just sucks you in.
For me, this one is a hard one to rate. I give it 4 stars because the writing is very good and it's an imaginative story. My problem with the story is that it's not my kind of read. Had it been longer, I probably wouldn't have finished it. But I wanted to give Neil Gaiman a try and figured I start off with something shorter.
Esse livro foi uma jornada diferente, não consigo descrever ainda a experiência de ler esse livro. Parabéns Neil Gaiman pq eu chorei no final
I'm gonna be honest with this review I understood less than nothing hahaha for real I don't know what this book is about but yo may be wondering why 3 stars if that's the case for me I don't know I just like it I didn't get it but it felt charm and like past like remembering something from long ago and it's not really clear this book in my not very clever opinion is about a boy who suffered a lot in the past and his imagination helped him or the reality I don't know if what happened here was real or just imagination I don't know shit about this book It was just enjoyable
Gaiman is one of those authors that I've always been aware of, just never dove into. I picked this one up for cheap and wasn't disappointed in it.
There's something to be said for writing interesting, fantastical stories but keeping them grounded. Although this book hints at a large, expansive universe full of fantastical creatures, realms and planes of existence, it never leaves the protagonist's neighborhood.
When crafting a story like this, sometimes it's appreciated to keep it simple and contained. There are only a handful of characters and locations, helping to blur the line between childhood fantasies and the remarkable.
Having returned home for a funeral, the narrator recounts the house down the lane, the pond that was an ocean and the girl, Lettie, who held his hand to help ward off the evil that sought to upset his small world. It's a pleasant read that flows smoothly and paints a vivid picture.
I'd once picked this book up at a random library, in a random country and I remember reading the prologue, and wanting to read more. But I was a traveler and had to leave the book behind.
Reading it almost felt like being tricked into something I hadn't expected, an adult being tricked into becoming a child again. I got transported back to my childhood which enabled me to experience the innocence, the childish wonders, and the many forgotten feelings I've had as a child. It's nostalgic, haunting, and weirdly sweet. The protagonist was highly relatable and made it easier for me to just get lost in the world that was created.
This was my first by Neil Gaiman and I'm hooked on his writing, wanting to read more of his works.
Meu eu de alguns anos e meu hoje tem visões diferentes. E ambas adoraram o livro. (+1star)
———
É estranho quando você lê um livro esperando um épico e na verdade não passa de mais um conto. É belamente escrito, a história é extremamente envolvente e rico. Talvez, justamente devido tamanha riqueza poderia ser mais explorada, com maior destrinçar. ... Aprofundar a história. Ela merecia. Quem sabe até mesmo uma reviravolta um elemento surpresa, além da infortuna morte de Lettie, algo algo... Algo! Não se sabe se aquele mundo paralelo é real ou não. O que são aquelas mulheres além de bruxas/criaturas fantásticas do mundo ou do oceano. Se não fora tudo imaginado por nosso protagonista sem nome (que ainda acho ser George), uma vez que era um menino solitário, sem amigos, apenas com a companhia de seus livros e a alegria que as historias o traziam...
Pontas soltas. Esse foi o problema de um conto fantástico do relato da infância magica que não voltaria mais.
Neil Gaiman doesn't write fantasy novels like everyone else and I am so thankful for that. Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of the best books I've listened to this year so far.
This book was not for me. I can recognize it was well written but I drudged my way through the entire thing and just did not enjoy it.