Book 36 - 2019
Book 36: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - 370 pages
Description from bookdepository.co.uk:
Under the streets of London there's a world most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, and pale girls in black velvet. Richard Mayhew is a young businessman who is about to find out more than he bargained for about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his safe and predictable life and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and yet utterly bizarre. There's a girl named Door, an Angel called Islington, an Earl who holds Court on the carriage of a Tube train, a Beast in a labyrinth, and dangers and delights beyond imagining . . . And Richard, who only wants to go home, is to find a strange destiny waiting for him below the streets of his native city.
Thoughts:
Since reading Good Omens earlier this year, I came to the conclusion that I needed to read more Neil Gaiman. Whilst fresh in this mindset, a few months back, and on holidays in Canada, I stumbled across a second hand book store in the small town of Salmon Arm. Gaiman's Neverwhere was on the book shelf for $8, so I bought it. And then it sat on my shelf for months, while I read Sandman, and fluffed around with books I'd picked up at the Brisbane Writer's Festival. And then finally, knowing I had a work trip to Sydney and needed something light to carry and read, I packed Neverwhere. At first, I wasn't sure about Neverwhere. It probably took me a good 150 pages to get into it, though just the mention of the Underground map gave me a strong longing to return to London. But as I got past that 150 pages, I suddenly understood the reference to Alice in Wonderland. And of course, Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories. So needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Richard is Alice in this story, a very ordinary guy, who helps a young woman rather than follows a rabbit. Nonetheless, he finds himself in a bizarre world, where everything is rather literal, the Below is as much a lively world as the above, and his ordinary life is no longer within his grasp. This was a really fast read for me, and I really enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen, though I started to work out a few small things towards the end. Gaiman's use of the Underground, and its all its weird names, was utterly delightful (and as I said, made me miss London terribly), and his wonderful British humour shone through without it ever overwhelming the story. I also really felt with Richard - a man who just wants to be ordinary, until he finally gets the chance to be again, and realises he actually doesn't - that hit home strongly. A thoroughly enjoyable book!
36 / 50 books. 72% done!
10251 / 15000 pages. 68% done!
Currently reading:
Journey to the West by Cheng-En Wu - 673 pages
The Sandman: Volume 3 - Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - 160 pages
Honeysuckle Creek: The Story of Tom Reid, A Little Dish and Neil Armstrong’s First Step by Andrew Tink - 255 pages
And coming up:
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book by Neil Gaiman - 485 pages
Description from bookdepository.co.uk:
Under the streets of London there's a world most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, and pale girls in black velvet. Richard Mayhew is a young businessman who is about to find out more than he bargained for about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his safe and predictable life and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and yet utterly bizarre. There's a girl named Door, an Angel called Islington, an Earl who holds Court on the carriage of a Tube train, a Beast in a labyrinth, and dangers and delights beyond imagining . . . And Richard, who only wants to go home, is to find a strange destiny waiting for him below the streets of his native city.
Thoughts:
Since reading Good Omens earlier this year, I came to the conclusion that I needed to read more Neil Gaiman. Whilst fresh in this mindset, a few months back, and on holidays in Canada, I stumbled across a second hand book store in the small town of Salmon Arm. Gaiman's Neverwhere was on the book shelf for $8, so I bought it. And then it sat on my shelf for months, while I read Sandman, and fluffed around with books I'd picked up at the Brisbane Writer's Festival. And then finally, knowing I had a work trip to Sydney and needed something light to carry and read, I packed Neverwhere. At first, I wasn't sure about Neverwhere. It probably took me a good 150 pages to get into it, though just the mention of the Underground map gave me a strong longing to return to London. But as I got past that 150 pages, I suddenly understood the reference to Alice in Wonderland. And of course, Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite stories. So needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Richard is Alice in this story, a very ordinary guy, who helps a young woman rather than follows a rabbit. Nonetheless, he finds himself in a bizarre world, where everything is rather literal, the Below is as much a lively world as the above, and his ordinary life is no longer within his grasp. This was a really fast read for me, and I really enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen, though I started to work out a few small things towards the end. Gaiman's use of the Underground, and its all its weird names, was utterly delightful (and as I said, made me miss London terribly), and his wonderful British humour shone through without it ever overwhelming the story. I also really felt with Richard - a man who just wants to be ordinary, until he finally gets the chance to be again, and realises he actually doesn't - that hit home strongly. A thoroughly enjoyable book!
36 / 50 books. 72% done!
10251 / 15000 pages. 68% done!
Currently reading:
Journey to the West by Cheng-En Wu - 673 pages
The Sandman: Volume 3 - Dream Country by Neil Gaiman - 160 pages
Honeysuckle Creek: The Story of Tom Reid, A Little Dish and Neil Armstrong’s First Step by Andrew Tink - 255 pages
And coming up:
The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Volume 3: White Gold Wielder by Stephen Donaldson - 500 pages
The Odyssey by Homer - 324 pages
The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book by Neil Gaiman - 485 pages