The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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!