The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel
#1 New York Times Bestseller
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, a haunting novel that explores the awesome power of memory, friendship, and sacrifice―one of ten classic Gaiman works repackaged with elegant original watercolor art by acclaimed artist Henry Sene Yee
"A novel about the truths—some wonderful, some terrible—that children know and adults do not.” —Time Magazine
Returning to his childhood home to attend a funeral, a middle-aged man is drawn back to a place once alive with monsters and magic; to a past where the impossible is all too frighteningly real . . .
A haunting meditation on memory, wonder, friendship, and sacrifice, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was named “Book of the Year” by the UK National Book Awards, is a groundbreaking triumph of storytelling as delicate as a butterfly’s wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
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Community Reviews
*Spoilers*
There were scenes I was really shocked to read, the one that comes to mind was the drowning scene. Where his father tries to drown him because he will not eat Ursula’s food. That part was pretty shocking. This was one thing that the Hempstock women did not get rid of in his memories. I’m glad they did not because as we get to the end, the gran says that she has been clipping his memory and so his view on his whole story may not even be right. That left me wondering a lot.
Although, I wanted to know more about the Hempstock women, I enjoyed that not everything was given away. I was sad that we did not get to know more of what or where Lettie went. Her dying but not knowing when she would come back was a little ugh.
The main character also keeps going back time and time again, but the gran has cut his memory to make sure he doesn’t remember. There were definitely things that had me questioning what was true and what wasn’t and so I think Gaiman made a good thing there. If you know the ending and look back you realize why the story is written the way it is written and it all makes sense.
I would recommend this story but you may feel in a slump afterwards.
The tone/language of the book is hauntingly beautiful, like a dream... or a song. Without giving away much of the story, it weaves the reality of childhood/family trauma and coming to terms with that as an adult, with fantasy and creatures and magic. Loved this line from NPR's review of the book: "This is a novel that manages to balance frenetic action with wistful self-knowledge — never missing a beat."
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