Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Spooky, atmospheric, and fascinating. Pretty much what I expected.
Paperback, 192 pages
Published June 18, 2013 by William Morrow.
4 stars
(449 reviews)
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 …
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.
A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.
Alex Keane reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I love Neil Gaiman's modern-day fairy tales. The Ocean at the End of the Lane tells the story of a middle-aged man who comes back to his old neighborhood and remembers a pretty unbelievable part of his childhood.
Gaiman's story is a pretty good story about the troubles of growing up and losing the things that were precious to us as kids.
This was a great read, I had trouble putting it down from the second I picked it up.
Unruly Stacks reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A marvelous blend of fantasy and recollection. The tone is intimate and heartfelt, and thoroughly delighted.
Robin reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I started reading this for an hour or so before bedtime. Now I've finished it and it's way after bedtime.
Cheri reviewed Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I really loved the book. Really truly.
None
4 stars
Ich habe das Buch im Rahmen einer Leserunde auf lesen.net als kostenloses Rezensionsexemplar gewonnen. Ich hatte zwar vorher schon Gutes von Neil Gaiman gehört, aber dieses ist das erste, das ich selbst gelesen habe. Ich bin eigentlich nicht so ein grosser Fantasy-Fan - Harry Potter mag ich, aber Herr der Ringe mag ich gar nicht. However, dieses Buch hat mir insgesamt gefallen. Es geht zwar schon ein wenig in Richtung Kinderbuch, lässt sich aber sehr gut lesen. Einige Elemente haben mich an Kinderbücher erinnert - diese Hungervögel z.B. an die Vogelwesen aus Ronja Räubertochter, von denen mir gerade entfallen ist, wie sie heissen.
Insgesamt hab ich's gern gelesen. Als besonderes Bonbon mochte ich auch die Schwarz-Weiss Illustrationen, die es sogar im e-Book gab! Ich hab schon ewig kein Buch mehr mit Bildern gelesen!
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
The narrator visits the house at the end of the lane on which he grew up. The same family still lives there. He recalls some particular events of his childhood involving the family at the end if the lane.
The story has the vague sort of quality that is shared by both half-forgotten childhood memories and half-remembered dreams. The narrator as a child may not fully understand what he sees but, unlike an adult, he doesn't question it.
I enjoyed this book and would rate it closer to a 3.5 because it was very interesting and almost nostalgic and I wouldn't mind reading it again.
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I'm not sure this affected me as emotionally as some but still enjoyed this dark fairytale. Full review to follow.
Zivan reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I listened to the audiobook read by Gaiman himself. I think this added allot to my enjoyment of the book.
Having the author place the emphasis exactly as he intended is very important in this narrative.
I was a bit disappointed by the ending I was expecting something more profound. But I after a couple of days to digest it I think I like the ending.
Diana reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I like Gaiman in general but I especially liked this book. Its a story, a reality fantasy, and an allegory. I read it in one day, canceling an important thing to finish. Its an especially good traveling companion.
chadkoh reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Lots of wonderful imagery, and he captures nostalgia quite well. There are some very uncomfortable scenes in the middle, which was surprising. I thought this book would be another child's tale like Coraline, but it really is a tale about middle age and memory. I thought it spent too much time in the nethers. The best parts I thought, were in the present, not the past. Even preferred the epilogue to the middle part of the book. Harsh?
nekokat reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
My favorite Neil Gaiman story in quite some time. Deeply moving, terrifying, beautiful, true.
jaymeb reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I can't read Neil Gaiman's books. But I can listen to him read his books all day long. It's like having Paddington Bear read you a bedtime story while you're tucked safely in your childhood bed on a cold winter's night. I didn't like this book as much as The Graveyard Book, but I still enjoyed it. I felt the ending was very appropriate and would have been upset if everything had been tied-up neatly with a nice little bow.
Marek Rychly reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It was a nice story, a fairy tale for grown-ups. Neil Gaiman really knows how to write this genre.
Sharyl reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The Ocean At The End of the Lane is a gem of a book, mostly because it seems to be such a clear window into the experience of being a child. Gaiman's novel is very adult, and yet, it's told very convincingly in the voice of a seven year old boy. This tale has a distinctive, magical atmosphere.
One of my favorite quotes:
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.”
The storyline flows so nicely that it's hard to put down after beginning. And it's not …
The Ocean At The End of the Lane is a gem of a book, mostly because it seems to be such a clear window into the experience of being a child. Gaiman's novel is very adult, and yet, it's told very convincingly in the voice of a seven year old boy. This tale has a distinctive, magical atmosphere.
One of my favorite quotes:
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.”
The storyline flows so nicely that it's hard to put down after beginning. And it's not long, so--go ahead, sit down and enjoy this one!
