The Ocean at the End of the Lane
discussion
Anyone think there is a tie in here with the Graveyard Book?
date
newest »
newest »
HMMM... I'll have to reread the graveyard book and I'll get back to you.
Same here. I'll have to re-read both books. But it's an interesting idea.
Yes I picked that up when I recently read The Graveyard Book (read Ocean at The End of the Lane first)Too coincidental, must be connected.........................
Or maybe it's something very mundane like the author has a fondness for that name. ;)
You never know, could just be :)
I remember thinking about Lizzie Hempstock from the Graveyard Book when I read the name 'Hempstock' in Ocean at the End of the Lane. It doesn't seem to me like they're related, but there could be a connection. :) Or at least enough of a connection for some Neil Gaiman fanfiction about it. The Hempstocks from Ocean seem more 'fae' to me than truly 'witchy,' is the thing.
I just picked up "M is for Magic" on a whim and there's a story in it that's connected to "The Graveyard Book", but I haven't gotten to it yet.
let us know if it comes up Merrilee :-)
Got "The Graveyard Book". The character is Liza Hempstock and she was drowned as a witch at about the time the plague struck England, then burned to ashes.
Found a blurb on Mr. Gaiman's blog about the Hempstocks. "Also, I'm writing a story about Lettie Hempstock. Who may be distantly related to Daisy Hempstock in Stardust and Liza Hempstock in The Graveyard Book." http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/01... is the link if you want to read the whole post, but what I quoted is all he says about it.
Nice! I guess I was right in my assumptions!
cool, I'd forgotten about Daisy Hempstock
Me too. Stardust is the first Gaiman book I read, after seeing the movie.
Jess wrote: "I remember thinking about Lizzie Hempstock from the Graveyard Book when I read the name 'Hempstock' in Ocean at the End of the Lane. It doesn't seem to me like they're related, but there could be a..."I agree that they aren't super-witchy, but one could mistake one for a witch. I don't think fae is right here though. Fae exist in our world, or in a parallel world. The Hempstocks, especially the grandmother, seem to be older than the varmints, and thus older than what we think of as the physical universe in general.
Actually, here's another vote for witchy. They are, quite literally, the mother, the maiden, and the crone, a la Terry Pratchett.
In Graveyard, Bod describes Liza as having a "goblin face". I can find the exact quote if y'all want.
Yeah Boost I guess you were! I have a strange memory when it comes to books. I'd forgotten all about the Hempstock character in The Graveyard Book until you mentioned it, but that won't stop me from waking up from a deep sleep two or three years from now and going "hmmm....what was that book I read about the kid who lived in the graveyard" and then doing a frantic internet search for it. (I had a book query a few months ago and all I could remember about the book is that the female character plays the wrong song at a funeral. That's it. Nothing else. My brother says my mind is like a steel trap: rusty and illegal in most states.)
Ok. I've found the story in M is for Magic that's related to The Graveyard Book. He should have said its IN Graveyard since the story is "The Witch's Headstone" aka chapter 4 of Graveyard. (Though if you read his authors notes at the end he does say he started with chapter 4 and worked from there.)
cool thanks Merrilee :-) I'm going to have to re-read Stardust, OATEOTL and Graveyard Book sooooon :-)
Elentarri wrote: "Or maybe it's something very mundane like the author has a fondness for that name. ;)"This is what I'm thinking. The Ocean at the End of the Lane was about Gaiman's childhood and he's said in an interview that the Hempstocks were a family that lived at the end of his road and the story was about a fictional story he'd made up about them. I am wondering if Liz Hempstock's name was just supposed to be a reference to that. I think he could do something with tying them together though that might be interesting (maybe in a related short story or something).
In Ocean at the End of the Lane, It is mentioned that the male offspring of the Hempstocks went out into the world and their children had some powers. I believe Liza was on of those children.
Merrilee wrote: "In Graveyard, Bod describes Liza as having a "goblin face". I can find the exact quote if y'all want."I think it was a goblin smile.
I just finished reading/listening to the book....I thought it was excellent. At the end of the story when he gives the credits, which you actually should listen to because it's very interesting, he talks about how the story came about; it was supposed to have been a short story but just kept going. According to Gaiman, the Hempstocks were fictional characters that had been in his mind for years waiting to be brought to life, and none of the story...at least the parts about his family were true. The Hempstocks were not witches nor fae and in fact Lizzie mentions that within the story, at least Old Mrs Hempstock was around at the making of the universe.I loved the autobiographical feel and the delicate weaving of fantasy into it. Leaves one thinking....hmmmm is it real, nah, well...maybe. This is the second book of his I've listened to....the first was Neverwhere, and I can't wait to hear more from him.
Well American gods and Anansi boys are in the same universe, (both great books) could be they all are. Also their is another last name that i think is in both its porringer could be wrong though.
I do not know if they are connected, but they do seem to have the same feel to them and maybe that is what you are noticing.
Boostamonte wrote: "I was just thinking about this, and compared the 2 books, and realized the Witch in The Graveyard Book was named Elizabeth Hempstock...who tells a story about being drowned and what not...It coul..."
I absolutely love the idea and will have to reread the graveyard book. But I am with the steel trap mind person who left a comment, although these books stay with me because Neil Gaiman is the best, they do end up a bit comingled in my mind. Great find though
Have you read Stardust? There is also a character named Daisy Hempstock. So far, all Neil Gaiman book I have read have hempstocks in them. I'm curious why.
According to a sciencefiction.com recount of a Q/A session after one of his book signings, "Neil Gaiman responded that they are indeed related, and that Liza is the great-great-great-great(… he continues this about thirty times) grand niece of Lettie." Source:
http://sciencefiction.com/2013/07/15/...
When Neil Gaiman was in Toronto promoting the Ocean at the End of the Lane he said they were absolutely connected.
Who would want a novel solely about the Hempstocks? ME! ME! ME!
Elentarri wrote: "Or maybe it's something very mundane like the author has a fondness for that name. ;)"Definitely not. It's Neil Gaiman; nothing in his work is ever just mundane. Characters from his stories end up all over his work, like when Delirium is briefly mentioned in American Gods.
I mean... Yeah, it seems like there are a lot of connections. The Hempstocks of course are one of those, but I've found more. In stardust the Lilium woman buys a knife to get the heart of the star that matches the description of the knife used by the man Jack in the Graveyard book, also in the grave yard book there is a ghost who was killed by a poisoned eel dish, just like the brothers of Stormhold in Stardust. There are references of people named Jack along with Murders in American Gods and in one of the short stories in Smoke and Mirrors. The name Scarlett makes an appearance in both Good Omens and The Graveyard book. Letitia is the name of both the girl in Ocean at the end of the Lane and of one of the pot maid that Tertius sleeps with in Stardust(though I should probably fact check that last one). I might be stretching here at the end, but there are a lot of similarities.
Here he gives a bit of background for using hempstocks in various novels. did the one on solely Lettie ever come through? would love to read thathttps://www.tor.com/2013/06/03/neil-g...
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
It could be coincidence, but I can't help wonder if the Hempstock's in each story are somehow connected...
Thoughts?