From the Bookshelf of 2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge…

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman

Start date: May 1, 2020

Finish date: May 31, 2020

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Mar 19, 2013 Wiltshire Hermit rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

When I discovered Neil Gaiman many years back it restored my faith in supposed 'grown-ups'. And by that I mean that discovering that there was a supposed 'grown-up' out there who still believed in magic and all possibilities, and created worlds from the magic and all possibilities inside his head blew me away. In fact, I think it's not too bold to say that having dreamers like Neil Gaiman in the world is what makes me feel awake.

This book is a gently terrifying gem that will make you leave your ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 26, 2021 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: scififantasy

OMG Ursula is even scarier than the other mother! Or any of the...creatures in Neverwhere

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May 09, 2013 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, book-club-read

I'm sad to say that I did not love this book. The entire story is told with a certain detachment: 40-something year old man, back home for a funeral after a long time way, sits by a pond and remembers his apparently-not-very-happy youth. He tells the story as the memories surface, so we are twice removed right there. The writing was solid (of course) but the style didn't work for me with this story. This is the first adult non-comic-book I've read by Gaiman, so maybe the style just doesn't work ...more

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Jul 02, 2013 Bea rated it it was ok

Shelves: stopped-reading

I'm really surprised a the high ratings for this book. To be fair, I didn't get very far in the story but I guess this just wasn't my type of book. It seemed like a novel for pre-teens or young adults, filled with fantasy. The writing was questionable at best. It read like an elementary school child's vacation report with the narrator saying flat, short sentences like "I was sad" or "I was happy" so many times I finally had to quit reading it. ...more

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Jul 10, 2013 Mandy rated it it was ok

If a fan of the bizarre, off-the-wall, not straight-forward story, you will like this. It does make one ponder. It is not, however, a traditional tale at all. Think Tim Burton for books.

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