As Always, Gaiman Delivers
922312
I love Neil Gaiman's writing. He is one of the authors that just strikes a chord with me. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have read by him, and this story is no exception.

The unnamed narrator of the story is back in his hometown in rural Sussex for a funeral. With time to kill, he decides to take a ride and ends up at the home of a childhood friend, her mother, and grandmother. When he was seven, he met the Hempstocks and befriended Lettie, the daughter. They drew the boy into their surpernatural world and take him on an adventure he only recalls now that he is back.

As is common with Mr. Gaiman's tales, he draws heavily on mythology here. The three aspects of the goddess, the water of life myths, and a healthy dose of evil just bordering our world are all gathered here. The story is told with style and grace, and nothing feels cliched. It is a bit whimsical at times, and at others frightening. Gaiman has a very defined voice in his writing, and it comes through clearly here. I found myself hearing his voice as the narrator in my head as I read it.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Gaiman's first adult novel since Anansi Boys, and it was well worth the wait. I recommend it highly.
4605645
This is one of the best written novels that I have read.  It is one that I recommend on a regular basis.  I have always enjoyed the writing of Neil Gaiman, but this is him at his best.
1951777
Kind of corny, but still hugely entertaining (especially for Gaiman fans).  I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys slightly out-there fantasy or British television.
945948
a gift for yourself is the gift that keeps on giving. i love Gaiman's works. this volume is amazing and rich, beautiful
3012877
There is something about Neil Gaiman's almost lyrical writing voice that sucks me in to whatever story he is telling, keeps me enthralled and tethered to whatever world he manages to create and causes me to care for his characters no matter their flaws and the often neglectful and horrible things they do to each other and the consequences they bring.

One thing in particular that I like about this book, one that makes it different from some of his more grand-scale fantasies, is the intimacy he brings to this story. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is more like some of his short stories, tinged with childhood nostalgia while mindful of the adult realities outside of his younger characters' understanding. Further, the events inside occur in an even more self-contained space than those in the Graveyard Book in which I think a reader can find a few similarities in theme.

The main protagonist is, when we first meet him, a man forced by circumstances we do not fully fathom, to remember the sometimes tragic, sometimes magical and, this being Gaiman, of course, frightening events he experienced when he was a small boy. While I mentioned the Graveyard Book above, in some ways, the boy and the story remind me of those found in The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch, the graphic novel Mr. Gaiman did with his frequent collaborator, Dave McKean.  However, rather than a doll and a somewhat dubious yet mysterious old "professor" being the key that unlocks the main character's memory and brings dark and adult understanding to events that took place when he was a child, Gaiman gives us a sweet and gentle yet even more mysterious old mother and a duck pond.

To say too much more about what happens next would spoil the fun, however, one thing I will tell you is that Gaiman gives us four of the most interesting female characters he's ever created in the three members of the Hempstock family, a grandmother, a housewife, and an 11-year-old girl and a beautiful au pair who is definitely more than she seems. Needless to say arcane and malignant forces have been set free and our main character has placed himself in the center of events through his own naive actions.

The book, while definitely a light meal, gives you a lot to chew on nonetheless. And one thing I can say about Gaiman's work that I say about few others is, and I certainly felt this way after finishing this book, is that I had less an urge to read more and more an urge to write. This, I believe, is one of Gaiman's true gifts. His sense of story is so strong, his voice, so lyrical and, his style so deceptively simple, that when you finish one of his tales, he makes you believe that there may well be a story locked away inside of you and that it wants to come out if only you could find the key that unlocks it.
593194
It's been more than a decade since I last readGood Omens (full title: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch), the collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Since then, I've come to know and deeply love the work of Terry Pratchett, and I've become more familiar with the work of Neil Gaiman (who, at the time I last readGood Omens, had only had a couple of novels published). That's made it a perfect excuse to revisit the book, and see how it holds up as a work by two of my favorite writers.

The answer: it holds up perfectly and then some, representing some wonderful union of the best of each author's sensibilities, and creating something wonderful in the process.

Nominally,Good Omensis the story of the Apocalypse, brought about by the birth of the Antichrist. But, in typical Pratchett style, from the get-go, there are reversals and oddities, from the way that the Antichrist is raised by a family who doesn't know what their child is and simply raises him normally to the way the book follows an angel and demon as they attempt to prevent all of this from happening. And through it all, Gaiman fleshes out the mythology and imagination of the piece, playing off of Pratchett's wry social commentary and gleeful silliness.

The result is, first of all, laugh-out-loud, consistently, constantly hilarious, from page one until the end. From a hellhound trapped in the form of a little dog to four bikers who nominate themselves as the followers of the four true Horsemen of the Apocalypse (bikers who have given themselves names like Grievous Bodily Harm, Really Cool People, Things Not Working Even When You've Given Them a Good Thumping, and more), from the wonderful banter between a group of children to the running gag about how every cassette left in a car gradually turns intoQueen's Greatest Hits, Pratchett and Gaiman stuff the book with jokes and silliness, ranging from the profound to the absurd and childish. (My favorite throwaway gag involves a group of ducks that's uniquely attuned to international politics because of all the "covert" meetings that happen at their pond.)

But what makesGood Omensgreat isn't the sly parodies ofThe Omen or the wonderful silliness. No, what makes it great is what makes so many Pratchett (and Gaiman, to a different extent) books great: the way it uses the plot to get to something more meaningful and profound. What begins as a book about the end of the world becomes a study of human frailty (the demon Crowley's thoughts about how human nature trumps anything he can ever come up with ring as true today as they did when the novel was first written), but also what makes life worth living. As with so many books by these two, the final confrontation doesn't come down to an action sequence - it comes down to ideas, to optimism (or hope, perhaps) in the face of defeat and cynicism. That's something both men have always been fascinated by, and always brought out in their work - that the world, and people, are so often horrible, and yet there is something magical and essential about life that's impossible to ignore. ThatGood Omensturns that into the text of the novel is what gives is a surprising punch that hits home, even more than any scene of Crowley driving his rapidly disintegrating car or enjoying (what I assume is Gaiman's work) the novel's inspired modernization of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse (and, in one case, one that has never changed, and never will).

It truly is the best case scenario for a collaboration - something that brings out the best aspects in both authors and plays them off of each other, creating something that feels like both of their work and yet feels totally of its own piece. It's funny, it's imaginative, it's profound, and it makes you feel better about the world, even while we recognize the pain of it all. In other words, it's typically brilliant Pratchett and Gaiman in every way.
612347
A fine collection of short stories. Quite a few gems in there. After reading this I am looking forward to reading Gaiman's other collections of short stories.
57313
One of Gaiman's short story collections features all kinds of wonders, includes a story about Shadow from American Gods in his further adventures after the end of that book. Great for any Gaiman fan.
1023099
Neil Gaiman continues his winning streak of examining lesser gods under the magnifying glass of his novels. This time he has created a delightfully funny and gruesome fantasy from an ancient African myth. It is a coming of age story with a twist. The protagonist is not a youth who finds his manhood with the help of an enchanted weapon buried in stone, but instead an anxiety ridden man approaching middle age and thoroughly settled into a mundane life. He works diligently at a stressful job that he doesn't enjoy and endures a long term relationship with a pleasant woman who wants little to do with him. His name is Fat Charlie. His life is defined by habit and repetition, right up until the death of his father, and an introduction to his hitherto unknown brother, Spider. The two of them become the Anansi Boys. Each one takes a dramatic leap of faith into the fantastic in order to grow and develop into the man they are destined to become. This could be a perfect tale for reading around a campfire, once the kids are old enough to appreciate the humor. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good storytelling.
993689
I just discovered Neil Gaiman and I love him. I don't read his books, I devour them! This is my third book in as many days. I can't wait to feast on the next one!
2195949
Even when his stories are slightly less than satisfying, Neil Gaiman's prose still manages to be absorbing and beautiful. And, as I listened to the Audible version of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Gaiman's voice is equally absorbing. He doesn't attempt any funny tricks or give each character a different voice. He simply reads and his voice is magic. As I listened while the narrator (not named) is eating a honeycomb soaked in milk, my mouth watered from Gaiman's evocative prose. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a novel that's not quite a novel (pretty short) and that's not quite young adult and not quite adult. It's a novel that is anchored by a somewhat terrifying, enchanting middle, but left wanting at both ends.

What begins much like a memoir, transforms into a tale of magical realism when the narrator meets a family called the Hempstocks. This family of three women, Gran Hempstock, Ginnie Hempstock, and Ginnie's daughter, Lettie Hempstock, have extraordinary power, able to listen in on conversations from a distance and suggest thoughts and words and actions into the minds of others. The narrator barely bats an eye at this magic. At seven years old, magic is a given. He befriends Lettie and she takes him on some adventures, one of which gets him into some trouble. The novel's slow unfolding eventually rewards patient readers when we finally meet the novel's villain, the wonderfully named Ursula Monkton.

Ursula is not what she seems, and only the narrator knows this. To everyone else in his family, she is a godsend. His mother sees her as the perfect babysitter; his sister claims her to be her best friend; and his dad finds her to be excitingly attractive. When the narrator doesn't fall in line like his family, Ursula lets her power show, entrapping him in the house. Behind her beauty lurks a powerful terror. These scenes are Gaiman at his hauntingly best, and Ursula does more than enchant his family, but the reader as well.

As evocative as Ursula Monkton is, the rest of the novel fails to match her charm. The narrator is a dull, powerless boy, and it is in the vein of modern stories that the main character passively witnesses extraordinary things happening to and/or around him, but he never actively engages in the action. Gaiman's purpose, I believe, is to show how powerless and fragile is man when faced against more powerful forces, but the issue in this case is that he fails to provide a well-developed character who has emotional weight.

Adding to the sense of tedium is the use of cliches throughout this work, something I don't quite expect from Gaiman. These are not obvious cliches, but there were many instances where, while listening, I could predict the next sentence because it was the sort of thing that had been written many times before. When the narrator tells Ursula Monkton, for example, that he isn't afraid of her, it isn't much of a surprise when he needlessly reveals to the reader that he is, in fact, afraid of her. Still, the brevity of the novel means it won't take up too much of your time, and Gaiman does provide some satisfaction even as you wonder if it is a necessary story.
2943583
another beautiful story by one of the best in the business,  Gaiman never disappoints - a great read that I was sad to see come to an end,
3307140
This begins as a quiet little book, but the suspense builds quickly, and as always with Gaiman, is beautifully written.  Narration by the author is also wonderful listening.
2639027
Really enjoy Neil Gaiman and all his books. Listened to the full cast unabridged version from Audible.com and it really came to life (pardon the pun) for me.
4905797
As pretty much everything by Gaiman it's a well crafted and told story that sucks you in and does not let go. I finished in one all-to-late session, and I would recommend it to anyone,
3899102
I had to make a decision years ago that has more to do with finances than my critical feelings, and that decision was to give up on reading comics. Actually, I had to give up buying them, but since that was the only way I could read them, the effect was the same. As with books, I had once read comics quite indiscriminately, from the tritist superhero soap opera (okay, I'll name titles--X-Men) to the bizzarist independents (Flaming Carrot). As the prices increased, I couldn't manage to keep up with all the titles I was following, plus maintain all my other interests. Something had to give, and I selected books and music over comics because I felt that comics were the most ephemeral.
There were some that I hated to give up, notably Dave Sim's Cerebus. Since then, I've convinced myself that buying the "collected" volumes of comics isn't the same as actually following comics, but falls into the realm of books.
Which leads me to Neil Gaiman's Sandman, which started appearing shortly after I had made my decision. Lucky for me the collections started appearing right on the heels of the comic, so I didn't have too long of a wait to see what everyone was talking about. Gaiman's comic is like Jonathan Carroll's novels, except Gaiman is more fantastical and less real, but more abstract and philosophical. In a sense, what Gaiman is achieving in Sandman is the creation of a new mythos, but one born of ancient ideals mixed with modern concepts. Actually, come to think of it, Ovid probably was doing the same thing in his time. Comparing Gaiman to Ovid may be going too far, but then he does reinvent the Orpheus myth in this collection, so who knows?
While I'll never be one you can trust to pick art work, this volume does contain a story illustrated by one of my favorites, P. Craig Russell, whose ornate style works well with Gaiman's poetical flourishes. This isn't the best introduction to the characters if youve never met Sandman before--I've also got The Doll's House, which probably fits that bill better.
1041156
A fun blend of pure Cardian protagonist and meta reality with Gaiman's American Gods and Gould's Jumper. The ending felt a bit pat, but there was some nice development of Card's female characters, who got some rather short shrift last volume.