The Ocean at the End of the Lane - General Discussion, No Spoilers (October 2013)

[Terry]

This topic is for general, spoiler-free discussion of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

For example, what do you think are Gaiman's themes in the book?

What do you think of the title?

Please also post any links or resources here about interviews and relevant comment about the book by the author or third parties.

[Terry]

Interviews with the author:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/06/neil...

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/201...

[Ben]

This is a book that has been discussed quite a bit online. Including on the Coode Street Podcast on several occasions http://www.jonathanstrahan.com.au/wp/...

I am about 60 pages into it and will probably finish it this week. From a literary perspective I do not particularly like his writing style. This has bothered me less in his childrens and YA work (I probably have less expectations on that side and just want to story driven forward). It is not that he writes badly, in fact I think he writes quite well it is just that a) I think that there are other people within the genre who write both more strongly and also in ways I appreciate more. His writing does have a slight poetic feel but it also feels a little flat to me.

I am still enjoying it and there is a real creepiness to the story and a sort of haunting quality - on the other side I am not connected yet with any of the characters.

[Patrick]

I'm enjoying it so far. I think the book is grounded in Gaiman's identification with the "powerlessness" of young children in an unhappy home.

[Terry]

Patrick, it's interesting you make that point. I was just thinking how that theme crops up elsewhere in Gaiman's work (Jed in Sandman's 'The Doll's House', the MCs in 'Mirrormask' and 'Violent Cases', etc). In many ways, children are prisoners of their parents, subject to their whims (or at least they often appear whims to the children), and I think Gaiman is acutely aware of this.

Ben, I find for myself that there are passages that are beautifully written, but that overall, his prose has a childlike quality that can seem a little simplistic for my tastes. There are some great passages in this though -- I will quote some of those I like soon on the relevant thread.

[Deborah]

I really loved American Gods. I think it's his best stuff. Everything else I've read so far has been relatively painless (in terms of delivery. I hope this one will be harder.

[Casceil]

Terry, your comment that "in many ways, children are prisoners of their parents," reminded me of a paragraph in Night Film.

“Come on.” I stood up. “Let’s get you back into bed.” I held out my hand, but Sam only frowned, an unmistakable look of doubt on her face. She seemed to already know what took me forty-three years to figure out, that even though adults were tall, what we knew about anything, including ourselves, was small. The jig had been up since she was about three. And like an innocent convict who’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sam was resigned to patiently serve out her sentence (childhood) with her inept wardens (Cynthia and me) until she was on parole.

Pessl, Marisha (2013-08-20). Night Film: A Novel (Kindle Locations 461-465). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[Casceil]

The group "Fantasy Aficionados" read and discussed Ocean last month. Their background thread has a link to a podcast of Gaiman reading Chapter IV of Ocean, as well as parts of an interview with Gaiman that sounds very much like the same interview discussed at the Tor link above. The podcast is over 50 minutes, but I found it interesting. Spoiler warning: Gaiman is reading Chapter IV, so anyone who has not read that far should probably wait until they have to listen to it.

https://soundcloud.com/slateradio/nei...

[Terry]

It's a nice excerpt.

[Ben]

Yeah Terry - there are passages that read well but overall i feel that the prose is a bit flat and dull.

That I did not really connect with the characters did not help. Without getting too spoilerific and on the positive side I did like that there are several interpretations that are left open as to exactly what is happening and that your own imagination is able to play its part in processing and enjoying the book.

[LindaJ^]

I have read Gaiman books in print and listened to audios of his books. I enjoy them both formats but in audio, they are just magnificant. This one - Ocean at the End of the Lane - I read in print. I liked the characters of the boy and Lettie the most, but I also could connect to the narrator. However, this was not an adult book in the way that American Gods and Anansi Boys were. This one seemed far more personal and that's the sense I've gotten from the interviews of Gaiman that I have read.

[Casceil]

I love it that the photo on the back cover of the boy next to the drainpipe is actually a young Neil Gaiman.

[Daniel]

Linda, I'll second your comments about his audiobooks being magnificent, to the point where I'm now a little disappointed that I read this book in print. He's a masterful storyteller, and hearing him narrate his own book is, as you put it, magnificent.

And thanks for pointing out that photo, Casceil. I read the ebook and would never have known that had you not pointed it out!

[Casceil]

I only caught it because it came up in one of the interviews. Apparently, after he wrote the scene, he mentioned it to his sister. She said, "Yeah, I remember when you used to do that. I think we even still have a photo somewhere." (or words to that effect).