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A review by jonisbookquest
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
5.0
This book was such a surprise! I bought this for a very cheap price at a book fair for the sole reason that it looked pretty. I wasn’t expecting much, but damn, this was so enjoyable! It’s been a while since I managed to finish a book in only two days (would have been one day if I hadn’t start in the evening).
Is this the best book that I’ve ever read? No, not even close. But I enjoyed every single second of it. Maybe it was because I was really in a mood for this kind of thing, I don’t really know.
The story is about a middle-aged man who returns to his hometown to end up in front of a lake (the ocean, as his childhood friend calls it). There, he remembers his childhood adventure (more like a childhood tragedy though) with Lettie Hempstock.
This book is filled with a feeling of nostalgia. I couldn’t help but to think of all the childhood fantasies I imagined when I was a kid. This could have easily been a children’s book, if some descriptions weren’t absolutely horrifying. As an adult (yikes) I remembered my inner child.
I felt deeply connected with the main character, who was like me in a lot of ways. I think most of the characters were very well done and believable. Even the villains had some sort of motive that made sense – Ursula, for example, thought that she was giving people what they wanted.
I also liked the magic in this work. I could imagine it really vividly; all these creatures were describes very well. Talking about descriptions; Gaimans writing style was like… perfect – I think this is the main reason why I didn’t notice a lot of the flaws this book might have. It’s really easy to get into and it just keeps you reading. I feel like the author put a lot of passion into this work and that’s something that really touches me.
I think the ending was very well done with a lot of twist that I didn’t really expect. The climax definitely didn’t leave me unsatisfied.
For the things I didn’t like… Sometimes the story had these moments when nothing was happening (and they could have easily been left out), but I didn’t really mind, because sometimes it’s nice to have a little moment to breath, without a lot of shit happening. I also think that Letties mother and grandmother could have been fused into one person, it wasn’t really necessary that there were two of them. For the rest, the personality of the mother could have been flashed out a bit more, but she didn’t play the most massive role, so it’s not that important.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book!
Is this the best book that I’ve ever read? No, not even close. But I enjoyed every single second of it. Maybe it was because I was really in a mood for this kind of thing, I don’t really know.
The story is about a middle-aged man who returns to his hometown to end up in front of a lake (the ocean, as his childhood friend calls it). There, he remembers his childhood adventure (more like a childhood tragedy though) with Lettie Hempstock.
This book is filled with a feeling of nostalgia. I couldn’t help but to think of all the childhood fantasies I imagined when I was a kid. This could have easily been a children’s book, if some descriptions weren’t absolutely horrifying. As an adult (yikes) I remembered my inner child.
I felt deeply connected with the main character, who was like me in a lot of ways. I think most of the characters were very well done and believable. Even the villains had some sort of motive that made sense – Ursula, for example, thought that she was giving people what they wanted.
I also liked the magic in this work. I could imagine it really vividly; all these creatures were describes very well. Talking about descriptions; Gaimans writing style was like… perfect – I think this is the main reason why I didn’t notice a lot of the flaws this book might have. It’s really easy to get into and it just keeps you reading. I feel like the author put a lot of passion into this work and that’s something that really touches me.
I think the ending was very well done with a lot of twist that I didn’t really expect. The climax definitely didn’t leave me unsatisfied.
For the things I didn’t like… Sometimes the story had these moments when nothing was happening (and they could have easily been left out), but I didn’t really mind, because sometimes it’s nice to have a little moment to breath, without a lot of shit happening. I also think that Letties mother and grandmother could have been fused into one person, it wasn’t really necessary that there were two of them. For the rest, the personality of the mother could have been flashed out a bit more, but she didn’t play the most massive role, so it’s not that important.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book!