I have read less of Neil Gaiman’s work than I would like. My first introduction to him was through Neverwhere (if you haven’t read it, you should). The Ocean at the End of the Lane is my fourth read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is told through the memories of a middle aged man returning to his childhood home. Forty years prior, a suicide was committed at the end of the lane. It set in motion a series of events that would forever change the protagonist’s life.
““Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences. I was a child, which meant that I knew a dozen different ways of getting out of our property and into the lane, ways that would not involve walking down our drive.” ”
CHILDHOOD, DISTILLED (SPOILERS)
While few of us have fought magical, alien creatures, many of us have felt overwhelmed by forces beyond our control and understanding. The beauty of this book is in the incredible storytelling. It’s fast paced, giving you no time as the reader to question the world you’re presented with. It wasn’t until I was reading reviews and trying to write my own when I realized you’re never told the protagonist’s name.
The descriptions of the creatures, the fantastical creations, is expertly done as one would expect from Gaiman. There are moments not for the squeamish when the protagonist attempts to pull a worm from a hole in his foot. It shows a beautiful balance of both self reliance and trusting in others to help.
There are a handful of secondary plots which aren’t resolved, but the questions left unanswered are believable. They are answers that a child wouldn’t get, and wouldn’t ask about. The Ocean at the End of the Lane instead gives the reader an experience of childhood again, with the satisfaction of knowing that the Hempstocks of our childhoods will still be there for us.
4/5 stars
-L.J
