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The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel
Audiobook6 hours

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel

Written by Neil Gaiman

Narrated by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Neil Gaiman’s first new novel for adults since his #1 New York Times bestseller Anansi Boys.

This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real...

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateJun 18, 2013
ISBN9780062255686
Author

Neil Gaiman

NEIL GAIMAN was awarded the Newbery and Carnegie Medals for The Graveyard Book. His other books for younger readers include Coraline (which was made into an Academy-Award-nominated film) and The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (which wasn’t). Born in England, he has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. You can learn more at www.mousecircus.com.

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Reviews for The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Rating: 4.348214285714286 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

1,904 ratings534 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This novel is going to stick with me like the best kinds of short stories, which I think comes from Gaiman's original short-story intentions. There are certain scenes, like in all the Gaiman books I've read, that are just REALLY weird, and they are going to pop into my thoughts at inopportune moments, so thanks for that, Neil Gaiman. The 4 instead of 5 stars is because this book left me somewhat uneasy during and after I read it. I didn't like the uncomfortableness, and I think it may have something to do with the uncomfortableness of the truths Gaiman was trying to tell. But there are also some great passages and lines and ideas about the nature of things, and particularly the nature of people, and childhood, that rang so true for me. (That was a run-on. Oh well.) What is the different between a child and an adult? Is an adult still the same person as the child they used to be? If something happened, but you don't remember it, does it affect who you are? If something didn't happen, but you remember it, does it still matter? What is a monster? Are monsters less monstrous if they get scared of something higher on the food chain? Who are we, really? These are questions fundamental to growing up and being a human. And they are answered, or at least raised, by the adventures of a 7-year-old who gets mixed up in some magical goings-on at the end of his lane.

    The narrator is never named, but reading (and listening to) Neil Gaiman's words gave me the distinct impression that this boy IS Neil Gaiman, or at least an imagined, magical-adventure-going version of 7-year-old Neil Gaiman. Who knows, maybe everything in the book is a real-world fact, and that's why Gaiman writes the books he does. It felt very personal, and with lots of details that I'm sure are real-life about England and growing up on this particular lane.

    I got this book at the signing in Portland, and I also picked up the audio book. I started and finished the book in paper, but listened to the middle on audio book - read by Gaiman himself. I have to say the audiobook experience was more enjoyable. Maybe because it was so clearly Neil Gaiman as a child, him reading it just made more sense then me trying to read a first-person narrative about a boy totally different from myself on the surface...but this book does dredge up the many ways humans are alike at the core. I wasn't trying to put myself into his shoes, as I feel many YA authors try to force in their first person narratives. But even still, I felt a connection with the narrator as a more complex person, and the human universals were made even more apparent when I wasn't trying to find them. And that is the trick of this book: it tells you things you didn't think you needed to hear, things you weren't expecting, and things that you're going to have to think about for many more years since Neil Gaiman has had 30 more years to think about things.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    “I liked that. Books were safer than other people anyway.”“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”Those two quotes very much represent me, most days! This was a decent read, with the beginning third holding my interest much more than the rest. Fantasy isn't always my cup of tea, but the warmth of the writing, plus the brevity of the story, kept me in the game. That, and the kindness and confidence of the Hempstock women. A nice, short read!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read for a book club - really glad I did, because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own! It’s not the type of book I usually read, which makes me like it more. The old world magic/paranormal elements were easy to accept as I read, and I got sucked into the story so much I had to finish it the same day I started. I had previously read Coraline, before it was a graphic novel and movie, and enjoyed it, but never read any more Gaiman. Now I think I’ll be seeking out more of his books.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    FANTASTIC. Listen to it. Amazing storytelling.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was my first Neil Gaiman book and it was a bit bizarre. It kept my attention that's for sure but a bit off the wall for my taste. I would really love to be inside the brain of the authors of these kinds of books sometimes to see how they come up with this stuff.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love when authors read their own books for the audio. Well done!
    This is a fun story about the dark side of faerie. And a boy who loves cats.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Oh goodness, I loved my first experience with Neil Gaiman. This is a magical realism short story that somehow clocks in at novel length and had me staying up late at night and sneaking away for a few minutes here and there at work in order to start and finish it in under 24 hours. I will read more of Gaiman. Feels a lot like Haruki Murakami with more of a fantasy tale spin.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is sort of a sequel to Stardust. The location and the "world" are the same and this is much later in time but the story and characters are new. I like Stardust much better. This one is charming, a little sad, and just not as interesting. Less action, a lot of reverie and thinking, a lot of sadness. I liked the Lettie character and her family but the seven year old seemed more mature at times for his age and less so at other times.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sometimes, the right book at the right time appears in your life. If you're lucky it opens or reopens those gaping soul wounds you're wrestling with and gives you the balm needed to heal.

    "You don't pass or fail at being a person, dear."

    Those words, on page 175 left me a sobbing mess this evening. The right words at the right time. I just really needed to hear that I'm not failing at life despite all other evidence. Thank you Mr Gaiman.

    So, how am I suppose to review this book? The small, beautiful book that I absolutely have to buy a copy of to refer to when needed? Do I quote the many quotes that struck me-marked by torn Post-It notes to copy down before returning the book to the library?

    This book isn't a full blown adult novel like American Gods. It's closer to The Graveyard Book in size and scope. This one is deeper-in essence it looks like a pond but it's really an ocean.

    I feel blessed to have read this. I am not going to gush and I'm not going to implore you to pick this up. It simply is the right book at the right time for me. And I'm going to just bask in the glow for a bit.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What to say about this hauntingly beautiful totally unique book, I loved it, I even rewound it twice just so it didn’t end and if I would have had the time I would have started it from the beginning as soon as I finished.Such a neat story, Neil is one of those writers that can take your breath away with a phrase or beautiful imagery. Although this story has fantastical/magical realism, it still feels like it could be a true story because you believe every word.Of course I listened to this on audio, it’s narrated by, Neil himself so that was a no-brainer choice, because I could listen to Neil read the phonebook and be mesmerized.I know this is a sorry excuse for a review but every time I try to explain how good this was I can’t put a sentence together, maybe when I do a re-listen one day I will expand upon this review but for now all I can say is read this book and read it now! (On audio is the best!)5 Stars

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A man revisits his childhood memories - and what memories they are. They involve moving to a new house, a bizarre babysitter, the girl who lives down the road and an epic battle. Was it all in his imagination - that's up to the reader to decide. Parts of this story read like a delightful fairy tale where a little boy meets a fantastical and mysterious family of women (Grandmother, mother and the little girl daughter) and finds out that the odd behavior of his baby sitter is due to her being an evil entity bent on destruction. However some of the content is definitely for mature audiences only. Gaiman also pushes the envelope as he explores how parents can get caught up in their own foibles and not pay attention to what is really threatening their children. My verdict: It provided great fodder for discussion and was a very vivid and creatively constructed story.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written, but brief, adult fairy tale.Think this is one that will return to my thoughts from time to time.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story is like a fairy tale, where everything is possible and the impossible is non-existent. It is easily told. In between, I like these types of stories, but it is a kind I do not want to read regularly.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Up until reading this book, the word "fantasy" to me conjured up images of King Arthur, "The Chronicles of Narnia," "The Dark is Rising," and "The Black Cauldron." These works have something in common: good and evil are clearly defined, and there is a quest for one to vanquish the other, which the reader can always sense that it inevitably will. Gaiman's "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" turned everything I thought I knew about fantasy on its head. There is no hero's quest per se, but a great mystery that the reader and main character keep trying to unravel together. You can never tell exactly where this book is going to go or whether it will even end well, building in a level of suspense that makes this like no other fantasy I have ever read. Aside from "Coraline," this book was my first dip into the wide waters of Gaiman's writing, but I am certain that I have now been swept into their ocean.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved this so much. It’s my first read/ listen to Neil Gaiman work, and what a start
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Immersive, I wouldn't believe you could write a child's pov book that will be THIS easy for an adult to get lost in
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely loved it. Nobody gets childhood as Neil Gaiman does!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I saw the play in London and was fascinated by hearing the reading. If you get to see it in person I suggest that you read or listen to it before you go..Such an imagination by a boy who had a book on his 7th birthday cake..I will be reading another..Neil Gaiman
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my favorite stories. I love how Neil brought the read to life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a wonder it must be to have the mind that wrote this story. Of all the gifts I covet, I covet that the most.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Not his greatest book but really emotionally stirring and brought back so many memories of my childhood. Is it a Gaiman book if you aren’t crying at the end for no reason?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Had the details been less scary, this would make a better MG book. I did like the story and the suspense well enough, but was disappointed in the lack of explanation in the end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. It was hauntingly beautiful, and leaves me full of melancholy and wonder.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Oh, Neil Gaiman. I want to love his books in their entirety, but I have yet to do so. Still, they're creepy and beautifully-written, words seemingly selected with precision and artistry. In a lot of ways, The Ocean at the End of the Lane reads like his children's books, rather than an adult novel, but it would probably have scarred my childhood self something fierce.Why Did I Read This Book?Neil Gaiman. Hey, I may not have loved all of his books, but I have liked them all thus far, and they're all interesting. Where he tends to fall a bit flat for me is generally characterization, but I've found that his books are all just the slightest bit stronger for me in audio, because it's such a wildly different reading experience, at least for me, allowing me to appreciate the gorgeous flow of his prose and the delightful lilt of his accent.What's the Story Here?A middle-aged man returns home for a funeral, and, beset by a sense of something missing, he travels down the lane to the house where, in his seventh year, he befriended the strangest girl. Lettie Hempstock she was called, and she was four years older than him, quite ancient really. When he arrives at the farm, Lettie's not there, but her mother gives him tea and memories arise in him. The older man appears only in the framing chapters, while all the rest consists of the experiences of his seven year old self, as his involvement with the Hempstocks opens him up to a magical and scary world.How are the Characters?They seemed fairly well done on the whole, though I still lacked the emotional connection that really makes me care about a fictional character's fate. Gaiman's characters are interesting, but sort of lack that dimension that makes them fully real in my heart. The boy, who I don't think is ever given a name, is a surprisingly weak figure, more a special visitor to the stars, the Hempstocks. He seems a very ordinary boy, not a hero in any way, and I wouldn't say he really becomes one. In all, I'm not really sure what I was to get out of his journey, but it was certainly fascinating.And the Horror? The reason this is being marketed to adults rather than teens is perhaps how creepy it is. Books don't scare me, so I won't say I was ever frightened, really, but some of the scenes are haunting. Like Gaiman's Coraline, he delves into the terror of when your family is NOT your family. There's little that would be more completely worldshakingly scary than your dad suddenly not acting like your dad or loving you anymore. There's also an evil nanny and people-eating creatures. It's the macabre sort of story Neil Gaiman is so good at composing.How was the Narration?Yet again, I'm glad I went for the audio, since Neil Gaiman's always a delight to listen to, even if that does make me sound like a creep. His voice is soothing and well-suited to the sort of dreamy, dark fairy tales he generally writes. Besides, who knows what emphasis to place on words and sentences better than the author. Also, he sang a couple of times, which was fun.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing amazing book, hearing it read by the author was a double treat, listening to his interpretation
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Brilliant, as always.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Delightfully intoxicating. I only wish it was a longer journey.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I never though I was capable of remembering my past, but just as I heard the narrator describe his childhood, I was transported to my own childhood and it was like a dam broke to allow the waters of my memories to be overflowed over the dry land of my adult life. Another thing I liked about the story was it was short and didn't go on when it didn't have to.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am going to read this book again.

    Not because I liked it so much. I did. But I like others more, by Gaiman and different authors. This book, I'll read again to understand, and while I was reading, I had moments which mirrored those of the narrator, in which I felt I understood more, saw more, than I can now recall or explain. Perhaps that's too much to put on this slim volume, and perhaps because of certain events and thoughts in my own life I won't address in a book review. What I can say is that The Ocean at the End of the Lane was not what I expected. It was something more, something simultaneously quite intimate and also universal, which I will revisit, and which will later fade even as it draws me back again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is written with a beautiful sense of innocence, even in its darkest moments. The book enfolds you, so gently you don't notice until you see how many pages you have read. A unique and unusual story that will take you to unexpected places.