Master of many literary crafts Neil Gaiman has returned in top form with his highly anticipated, gripping latest novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
Neil Gaiman has perfected many genres of literature during the course of his career, including the renowned Sandman series of graphic novels, his children books, and his utterly brilliant Young Adult novels Coraline and The Graveyard Book.
However, it's been seven years since his last novel Anasai Boys and, after feeling the wait for this novel quite considerably, it was with the mixture of excitement and trepidation that any book lover feels when a favourite author publishes a new work, I picked up this long-awaited book and dug right in. And it was clear almost immediately that the wait was not in vain.
Gaiman has always had an innate ability to strike both fear and delight into the hearts of his readers, both young and old, throughout his library of work but, with The Ocean at the End of the Lane, it feels like he has mastered this craft to its best.
When I interviewed Neil Gaiman several years ago upon the release of The Graveyard Book he spoke about why his books for younger readers were almost more frightening than his adult ones; because children's imaginations are so much grander and also, when it comes to books, children love to be scared, thrilled, and excited. But, while reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, it felt like this was the first novel in which Gaiman had gone out to really terrify the adults too - and he certainly succeeded! I, at one point, had to put the book down and walk away for a while to calm down; the feeling that takes you over at certain points when reading this novel is much like when you watch a scary movie and put your hands in front of your eyes to hide behind - the tension is so affecting!
The story is set over a short period of time in the past, during the childhood of the narrator. And that childhood - apart from the supernatural elements - sounds so familiar to the author that one can't but think that there must have been plenty of autobiographical inspiration from Gaiman's own childhood in England in certain facets of the story, from the voice of the narrator to the description of the world he inhabits. Second to that, the writing also feels very much like an ode to the literature Gaiman read as a child; I'd be very surprised if he hadn't at one point been an avid reader of Enid Blyton, for I certainly was and no book in my adult life has made me feel the same type of nostalgia as this story. Even the descriptions of food feel so like Blyton's, who made my mouth water a hundred times throughout my childhood with her accounts of buttered scones and ginger beer and stacks of sandwiches eaten by children with empty tummies home from another adventure.
However, Blyton never had the same tongue-in-cheek, witty humour Gaiman has always speckled throughout his work and, although Blyton's books featured plenty of villains, none were so fearsome as the absolutely terrifying creature Gaiman has created in Ursula Monkton, the major antagonist of the story.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is essentially a battle between the powers of good and evil with some pretty interesting characters on each side. Monkton is by far the biggest bad Gaiman could possibly create - I'm not exaggerating when I say I had to put the book down briefly to escape the tension and fear she creates throughout the story at different stages. The forces of good are represented mostly by three generations of women living together in a cottage down the road from the narrator; the youngest, Lettie Hempstock, believes their pond is an ocean and the oldest, Old Mrs Hempstock, can remember the Big Bang.
After the narrator's family is by chance entangled into a very strange series of events after their lodger steals their car and kills himself in it thus disturbing dark forces that lead to catastrophic consequences - starring Monkton who uses the family as puppets to help along her own devilish ways - the narrator happens upon the girl, her mother, and her grandmother who are the only people that can stop these dark forces from causing cataclysmic repercussions.
With Monkton invading his family home and casting something of a spell over his family, these ladies with their strange ways are the only people the narrator can turn to for protection and help. With his family oblivious to the dark forces at play, the three Hemptock women are also the only people the narrator can trust but he must leave whatever version of reality he previously held at the door of their comforting kitchen to avail of their help and sanctuary.
Even if you are not a fan of the genre of fantasy fiction this book is so well written, so hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, that it really makes for such a brilliant, gripping, and overall hugely entertaining read, like many of Gaiman's books before it. Reading this was such a joy and relief to see that Gaiman's writing gets stronger and stronger over time and, if you choose to pick this up, you are in for a huge treat. I couldn't recommend it more and, considering that Gaiman has produced such a diverse body of work over his long and successful career, I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is available now in paperback.
Deirdre O'Brien
When I interviewed Neil Gaiman several years ago upon the release of The Graveyard Book he spoke about why his books for younger readers were almost more frightening than his adult ones; because children's imaginations are so much grander and also, when it comes to books, children love to be scared, thrilled, and excited. But, while reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane, it felt like this was the first novel in which Gaiman had gone out to really terrify the adults too - and he certainly succeeded! I, at one point, had to put the book down and walk away for a while to calm down; the feeling that takes you over at certain points when reading this novel is much like when you watch a scary movie and put your hands in front of your eyes to hide behind - the tension is so affecting!
The story is set over a short period of time in the past, during the childhood of the narrator. And that childhood - apart from the supernatural elements - sounds so familiar to the author that one can't but think that there must have been plenty of autobiographical inspiration from Gaiman's own childhood in England in certain facets of the story, from the voice of the narrator to the description of the world he inhabits. Second to that, the writing also feels very much like an ode to the literature Gaiman read as a child; I'd be very surprised if he hadn't at one point been an avid reader of Enid Blyton, for I certainly was and no book in my adult life has made me feel the same type of nostalgia as this story. Even the descriptions of food feel so like Blyton's, who made my mouth water a hundred times throughout my childhood with her accounts of buttered scones and ginger beer and stacks of sandwiches eaten by children with empty tummies home from another adventure.
However, Blyton never had the same tongue-in-cheek, witty humour Gaiman has always speckled throughout his work and, although Blyton's books featured plenty of villains, none were so fearsome as the absolutely terrifying creature Gaiman has created in Ursula Monkton, the major antagonist of the story.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is essentially a battle between the powers of good and evil with some pretty interesting characters on each side. Monkton is by far the biggest bad Gaiman could possibly create - I'm not exaggerating when I say I had to put the book down briefly to escape the tension and fear she creates throughout the story at different stages. The forces of good are represented mostly by three generations of women living together in a cottage down the road from the narrator; the youngest, Lettie Hempstock, believes their pond is an ocean and the oldest, Old Mrs Hempstock, can remember the Big Bang.
After the narrator's family is by chance entangled into a very strange series of events after their lodger steals their car and kills himself in it thus disturbing dark forces that lead to catastrophic consequences - starring Monkton who uses the family as puppets to help along her own devilish ways - the narrator happens upon the girl, her mother, and her grandmother who are the only people that can stop these dark forces from causing cataclysmic repercussions.
With Monkton invading his family home and casting something of a spell over his family, these ladies with their strange ways are the only people the narrator can turn to for protection and help. With his family oblivious to the dark forces at play, the three Hemptock women are also the only people the narrator can trust but he must leave whatever version of reality he previously held at the door of their comforting kitchen to avail of their help and sanctuary.
Even if you are not a fan of the genre of fantasy fiction this book is so well written, so hilarious and terrifying in equal measure, that it really makes for such a brilliant, gripping, and overall hugely entertaining read, like many of Gaiman's books before it. Reading this was such a joy and relief to see that Gaiman's writing gets stronger and stronger over time and, if you choose to pick this up, you are in for a huge treat. I couldn't recommend it more and, considering that Gaiman has produced such a diverse body of work over his long and successful career, I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is available now in paperback.
Deirdre O'Brien
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