Book Review-The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Having read Coraline and The Graveyard Book, I was excited to see that Neil Gaimen had written an adult novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  Needless to say, when I got it from the library I dropped everything else to read it. It grabbed me right from the beginning.  The narrator is grown up and is recounting the events that happened when he was a small boy.  He has returned to the area of his boyhood home, which is no longer there.  The house at the end of the lane, with its small pond, is still there and he is drawn to it.  He sits at the edge of the pond and tells the story of how his parents took in a lodger who stole their car so he could commit suicide.  This violent act unleashes otherwordly creatures that try to take over the boy's family.  The women who live in the house at the end of the lane set out to help.  This basic outline does nothing to convey the sense of dread and eeriness that Gaiman infuses into his books.  His storytelling is magical and riveting.  Somehow, he is able to use the magical and othewordly to better describe the everyday.  If you've read Neil Gaiman before you'll love this one.  If you haven't read Neil Gaiman before you're in for a treat.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane By Gaiman, Neil 2013-06 - William Morrow & Company 9780062255655 Check Our Catalog The author's first new novel for adults since his #1 "New York Times" bestseller "Anansi Boys" is a bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery, survival, memory and magic that makes the impossible all too real. …More

Other books by the same author.

The Graveyard Book By Gaiman, Neil Illustrator McKean, Dave 2010-09 - HarperCollins 9780060530945 Check Our Catalog In his Newbery Medal-winning novel, Gaiman introduces Bod, a boy who is the only living resident of a graveyard. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? Illustrations. …More

American Gods By Gaiman, Neil 2002-04 - HarperTorch 9780380789030 Check Our Catalog Shadow is a man with a past and wants nothing more now than to live a quiet life with his wife. When his wife is killed in a terrible accident, Shadow flies home for the funeral. As a raging storm rocks the plane, the strange man in the seat next to Shadow introduces himself as Mr. Wednesday. He knows more about Shadow than is possible--and he warns Shadow an even bigger storm is coming. …More

Neverwhere By Gaiman, Neil 1998-11 - Avon Books 9780380789016 Check Our Catalog Richard Mayhew is a plain man with a good heart -- and an ordinary life that is changed forever on a day he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. From that moment forward he is propelled into a world he never dreamed existed -- a dark subculture flourishing in abandoned subway stations and sewer tunnels below the city -- a world far stranger and more dangerous than the only one he has ever known... …More

Coraline: Deluxe Modern Classic By Gaiman, Neil Illustrator McKean, Dave Illustrator Gaiman, Neil 2002-07 - HarperCollins 9780380977789 Check Our Catalog 2003 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award Winner CCBC Choices - 2003 From the author of "American Gods" and "Stardust" comes a fantastical tale. When Coraline steps through the locked doors in her family's new flat, she finds a world which caters to her every whim. But when she wants to leave, things turn unpleasant. To save other trapped children, her parents, and herself, Coraline must fight with all her wits and courage. …More

Stardust By Gaiman, Neil 2008-12 - Harper Teen 9780061689246 Check Our Catalog In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, a lovelorn young man stepsthrough a gap in a high stone wall, and into the most unforgettable adventureof his life. …More

The Sandman, Volume 1: Preludes & Nocturnes By Gaiman, Neil 2010-10 - Vertigo 9781401225759 Check Our Catalog "New York Times"-bestselling author Gaiman's transcendent series, Sandman, offers an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore, and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision. …More

Complimentary Reads

The Night Circus By Morgenstern, Erin 2011-09 - Doubleday Books 9780385534635 Check Our Catalog 2012 Alex Award Winner To enter the black-and-white-striped tents of Le Cirque des Reves is to enter a world where objects really do turn into birds and people really do disappear. Even though visitors believe the performances are all illusion, they are obsessively drawn to this extraordinary night circus. Those who run and perform in the circus are its lifeblood. Marco Alisdair runs the operation from London as assistant to the eccentric proprietor. Celia Bowen holds it all together from her role as illusionist. As magicians, Marco and Celia are bound to each other in a deadly competition of powers, creating ever more fantastical venues for circus goers to marvel at. But falling in love was never part of the game, and the players struggle to extricate themselves from this contest while keeping the circus afloat. …More

The Book of Lost Things By Connolly, John 2007-10 - Washington Square Press 9780743298902 Check Our Catalog The bestselling author of "The Black Angel" offers a creative coming-of-age story about one boys journey into adulthood, combining dramatic themes with edge-of-your-seat suspense and a fantastical imagination. …More

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