Imaginative, atmospheric and well-written. 3.5/5 stars.
The blurb: Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
My take:
I can’t quite remember if I read Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. I think I may have, but it was so long ago I can’t be sure. So to all intents and purposes, this is the first thing I’ve read by him and I was looking forward to it very much.
The book is short (235 pages) and I read it quickly, finding some sections gripping. However, my overall experience was a bit flat. That is, I reached the end of this book, closed it, placed in on the table next to me and thought, “Huh.”
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It’s an original, inventive and incredibly well-written story. All the characters are well-drawn and I particularly enjoyed the Hempstock women who, at points, reminded me of the wonderful witches in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. The plot is solid, the fantastical elements are woven into the everyday reality of our narrator’s world seamlessly and there are a few truly frightening moments.
Perhaps I was disappointed because I was expecting more of an adventure tale when this story is reflective and melancholy, an ode to lost childhood and the slipperiness of memory. Also, something I can’t put my finger on just felt “off”. Maybe it’s the narrative point of view: the story is told by a man in his forties, re-accessing and reliving memories from when he was seven. At times the point of view is entirely consistent with the level of maturity and knowledge we might expect from a seven year old. But at other times this consistency slips, muddling a more adult consciousness with that of the child.
My instinct tells me this isn’t Gaiman’s best work and I look forward to reading something else by him. Perhaps I’ll (re?)read American Gods.
Any recommendations for the next Neil Gaiman book I should try? Neverwhere? American Gods?
Art and Soul 
Hmm no recommendations from me. I like the sounds of this one, despite your reservations! Interesting review x
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Thank you! 🙂
It’s a good book, just not as wonderful as I’d hoped. I’ll just have to keep reading his books until I find a 5* one.
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Neverwhere is a must read for me 😀
Have you read Stardust?
I really liked Ocean too, I think it was lovely
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You’re not the first person to recommend Stardust – I put it on my TBR yesterday 🙂 I think I’ve seen bits of the film, which main ruin plot twists, but the book is nearly always better than the film anyway!
I’ll add Neverwhere to the TBR too – thanks!
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movie was nice, but it went a bit too far from the book
Neverwhere was also filed 🙂 and it had a BBC radio drama which was quite fun to listen, Cumberbatch played the Angel 😀
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I adore Neil Gaiman’s books and graphic novels, but I haven’t read Ocean at the End of the Lane yet. From your review, I imagine it pales in comparison to his other works. Have you ever considered Sandman? If not, I highly recommend it 😉 Also, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch is a great read too. He cowrote that one with Terry Pratchett.
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I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett so it’s shameful I haven’t read the collaborations yet.
I’ll put Sandman on my TBR now! Thank you 🙂
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You’re welcome!
I only got into the Discworld series a year or two ago! It’s my absolute favourite! Terry Pratchet = genius 😀
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Good to hear you enjoyed The Ocean At The End Of The Lane! It’s my personal favorite, but I really enjoyed American Gods and The Graveyard Book as well. I’m going to read Neverwhere hopefully within the next two weeks; I’ve heard a lot of people saying it’s his best book.
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Oh..,…I think you expected something different from this book. I understand where you come from and perhaps this wasn’t the best book for you to start with. If you read The Graveyard Book and Stardust, this one is going to make more sense and you’ll understand his style better. Good luck!
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I sort of felt the same when I read it, but that makes sense I suppose when you hear him talk about writing the book. Apparently it started off as a short story for his wife to show what life was like for him as a child and he ended up ‘accidentally’ writing a novel.
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That would maybe explain why I just felt something about it wasn’t quite right. Sometimes it’s so hard to put a finger on why something which is clearly so well-written doesn’t enthuse you as much as you’d hoped.
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