Book 137: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Book 137: The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
Author: Neil Gaiman, 2013.
Genre: Fantasy. Horror.
Other Details: Paperback 248 pages/Unabridged Audio (5 hrs, 47 mns ). Read by Neil Gaiman.
It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond this world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defence is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
Although I had read this novel last October ( 2013 Book 194) it was a reading group selection this month and so I decided to first listen to its audio edition. I felt that Neil Gaiman did an excellent job of narration. His voice is rich and he clearly knows his material and brought his characters vividly to life. On the day of the meeting I also did a brief re-read of my paperback edition.
I felt the novel held up well for a second reading and I found had a deeper appreciation for its themes as well as its strangeness. Although I enjoyed it very much it didn't grip me as much as American Gods though I did wonder if the three Hempstock women could be a form of the Fates or Norns given their work with threads and their seemingly eternal natures.
However, it was less well received by the reading group than I had expected. There was some confusion about whether this was for adults, given the age of its narrator, or more for young adults despite some mature themes.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.