Paperback, 388 pages
English language
Published Nov. 11, 2005 by Review.
"Richard Mayhew is an ordinary young man with an ordinary life and a good heart. His world is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. This small kindness propels him into a dark world he never dreamed existed. He must learn to survive in London Below, in a world of perpetual shadows and darkness, filled with monsters and saints, murderers and angels. He must survive if he is ever to return to the London that he knew."
Wonderful imaginative storytelling, I really like the idea of a parallel world next to ours.. These stories make me aware of how I looked at the world as a kid, imagining stories behind things you could almost see, but when starring at it vanished. Neil Gaiman catches these stories by the tale (get it..as Mr Croup would say) and builds them into elaborate worlds you can dive into.
A fun read. Somehow both lighthearted and dark, easy but deep, sophisticated but straightforward. I think perhaps I’d rate this 4.5 stars if possible but hey, it’s market day and I’m feeling generous.
Content warning Potential spoilers
This is one of my favourite books of all time. In all, I’m relatively sure I’ve bought at least four paperback copies and two ebooks, as well as recommending it to everyone who’ll listen. Read this before seeing the amazing BBC version; that said, I genuinely felt like I got to know Door and Richard Richard Mayhew Dick so much more as a consequence of reading this first. Beware the Angel Islington!
Nuorehko sijoitusanalyytikko (vai mikä olikaan) törmää Lontoon kadulla mystiseen loukkaantuneeseen nuoreen naiseen, ja siitä lähtee seikkailu Ala-Lontoossa, jota kansoittavat raoista alas pudonneet tyypit ja jossa henki on jatkuvasti herkässä. Pääpahiksen jäljittäminen johdattaa sankarimme moneen groteskiin paikkaan ja tilanteeseen. Sen rinnalla tavanomaisen arkinen Lontoo pankkiireineen ja taidekuraattoreineen tietenkin kalpenee.
3.5 stars
Great writing of course, but I felt I'd read the situations before. Richard's situation (not the character) was very similar to the beginning of Anansi Boys. So didn't engage me as much.
Still very good, but did feel a bit more rambling than I remembered.
The book is alright, if a bit of a chore to read. It didn't pull me in. The interesting characters don't get much time in focus (e.g. the Marquis), while the boring/uninspiring characters get too much (e.g. Richard, the protagonist). It attempts the dry humor of Douglas Adams with some degree of success, but often just falls short one bit.
I found the short after-story "How the Marquis got his Coat back" much more interesting and fun to read than the main story, which is saying something. The Marquis is an interesting character, and having his POV actually makes for an enjoyable read as you want to learn more about him and what he does. That stands in sharp contrast to Richard from the main story, who starts uninteresting and remains the same throughout.
Listened to this on audiobook, Neil Gaiman is the best London tour guide ever.
Fabulous characters in a wonderful under world London. Neil Gaiman at his best.
This is a truly peculiar novel. I found the conclusion to be particularly well constructed and interesting. As for the good guys, the bad guys, the dead and the living, suffice it to say they are just 'a little bit' difficult to sort out. An enjoyable, weird tale it is.
One of those books others love that just wasn’t for me.
Ah, where to start? I'm of two minds about this book. As I progressed through it, I thought, "Yes, I get it. This book is good. I'm enjoying the fantasy world of London Below. Three solid stars." But now, I find myself thinking about the book at odd moments, and I think I will have to upgrade my rating to 4 stars. It's sticking with me. The world building in Neverwhere is top notch.
Average Joe Richard Mayhew, through an act of kindness to a young lady in peril, ends up in London Below, a magical, scary place where the "other" people of London--some different, some with powers, some on the outskirts of regular society--live their lives unknown and unseen by those in London Above. Richard finds himself on a quest of sorts as he trudges the road back to his old life. You may find Richard annoying and weak, …
Ah, where to start? I'm of two minds about this book. As I progressed through it, I thought, "Yes, I get it. This book is good. I'm enjoying the fantasy world of London Below. Three solid stars." But now, I find myself thinking about the book at odd moments, and I think I will have to upgrade my rating to 4 stars. It's sticking with me. The world building in Neverwhere is top notch.
Average Joe Richard Mayhew, through an act of kindness to a young lady in peril, ends up in London Below, a magical, scary place where the "other" people of London--some different, some with powers, some on the outskirts of regular society--live their lives unknown and unseen by those in London Above. Richard finds himself on a quest of sorts as he trudges the road back to his old life. You may find Richard annoying and weak, like I did. He kept me from rating this book 5 stars, to be sure. But as you explore more of the story, you may find yourself pulled into the various characters who inhabit London Below. You may find yourself attached to them by the end, flaws and all.
Did I mention how much I loved the characters of London Below? My personal favorite was the Marquis de Carabas. He was multi-faceted, complicated, and clever. I. Loved. Him. While I was lukewarm on the Lady Door at the beginning, I found myself fascinated by her background and cheering her on by the end. And Hunter? Suffice to say, she surprised me and I understood her journey more than I expected.
Enjoy the world of the floating markets. Enjoy the rat people. Enjoy Croup and Vandemar, the duo you love to hate. Absorb yourself in this amazing world, and simply enjoy.
*Disclaimer: I listened to the "Author's Preferred Text" edition on audio, read by Neil Gaiman himself. I have no idea what was added or subtracted to this edition, but I am glad I listened to him read his own words in his own voice. It added something to it for me.
3.5/5 stars, rounded up...
So far, I always enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing--his humor, the way he pokes fun at common situations and plays with words, is a delight. In this novel, the evil duo Coup and Vandemar succeed in being very funny and totally disgusting at the same time. Richard is the protagonist and unlikely hero, and Door is sort of the damsel in distress, but not at all weak. Then, there's the Marquis de Carabas, who gets my vote for the most intriguing personality.
Overall, this is a light, fun read, not at all intricate or surprising. The most thought-provoking topic (for me) was the fact that Richard was just a background character in his original life, and perhaps this is what made an alternative reality call his name. (Which is reality?)
At the end of this novel, there is a short story which centers around The Marquis de …
3.5/5 stars, rounded up...
So far, I always enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing--his humor, the way he pokes fun at common situations and plays with words, is a delight. In this novel, the evil duo Coup and Vandemar succeed in being very funny and totally disgusting at the same time. Richard is the protagonist and unlikely hero, and Door is sort of the damsel in distress, but not at all weak. Then, there's the Marquis de Carabas, who gets my vote for the most intriguing personality.
Overall, this is a light, fun read, not at all intricate or surprising. The most thought-provoking topic (for me) was the fact that Richard was just a background character in his original life, and perhaps this is what made an alternative reality call his name. (Which is reality?)
At the end of this novel, there is a short story which centers around The Marquis de Carabas and how he gets his coat back, which was also a splendid, humorous read. Heh, mushrooms...
I had a good time, and would recommend this to anyone.
It feels a little silly to write a review for a book with over 300,000 ratings and 1500 reviews on Goodreads. It's like trying to come up with an original thought on Hamlet. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Maybe nothing... but let's find out.
I mostly read on the subway now, which could be the most appropriate place to have read Neverwhere. It could only be more appropriate if I was reading it on the London Underground, rather than the NYC subway. But every day, as the subway car departs the lights of the station into the dark tunnels, and through a world only briefly glimpsed, I wonder what's going on in the shadows, in the distant spots of light. Is there a giant albino alligator living somewhere down there? A magical other realm with vampires, rat-speakers, goblin markets, and even stranger things. Neil Gaiman took …
It feels a little silly to write a review for a book with over 300,000 ratings and 1500 reviews on Goodreads. It's like trying to come up with an original thought on Hamlet. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Maybe nothing... but let's find out.
I mostly read on the subway now, which could be the most appropriate place to have read Neverwhere. It could only be more appropriate if I was reading it on the London Underground, rather than the NYC subway. But every day, as the subway car departs the lights of the station into the dark tunnels, and through a world only briefly glimpsed, I wonder what's going on in the shadows, in the distant spots of light. Is there a giant albino alligator living somewhere down there? A magical other realm with vampires, rat-speakers, goblin markets, and even stranger things. Neil Gaiman took me into that world, and once again shows how modern fairy tails can be told.
Back in the 90's when I was in high school, I picked up a copy of White Wolf's Changeling. Mostly because I loved the cover, but also because I enjoyed Vampire and Werewolf, and wanted to see how they wove in the Fairy, but it ended up being one of those things where there was just too much going on. Nearly immortal vampires doing their political thing, werewolves doing their thing battling the modern world, and then in the same universe you've got all the fairy and mummy and... too much, and it never fit all together, so I never got to play it. Everyone was way too into their vampires to think about playing fay. And honestly, I didn't really get how to make it work either.
I wish I'd had Neverwhere to show me how it's done. Between Gaiman and de Lint, I really want to start running a modern fairy tale RPG game.
The only complaint I have about the whole thing is the final page... But then Gaiman is more optimistic than I am. I'd have cut the story off just a few lines earlier than he did.
