Discussion for The Ocean at the End of the Lane

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Start discussion here for The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Summary (From Goodreads book description)


Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. It is a stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

Discussion questions (From harpercollins.com)

1. It would be easy to think of the Hempstocks as the "triple goddess" (the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone) of popular mythology. In what ways do they conform to those roles? In what ways are they different?

2. The narrator has returned to his hometown for a funeral (we never learn whose). Do you think that framing his childhood story with a funeral gives this story a pessimistic outlook, rather than an optimistic one?

3. Because the narrator is male and most of the other characters are female, this story has the potential to become a stereotypical narrative where a male character saves the day. How does the story avoid that pitfall?

4. The story juxtaposes the memories of childhood with the present of adulthood. In what ways do children perceive things differently than adults? Do you think there are situations in which a child's perspective can be more "truthful" than an adult's?

5. One of Ursula Monkton's main attributes is that she always tries to give people what they want. Why is this not always a good thing? What does Ursula want? How does Ursula use people's desires against them to get what she wants?

6. Water has many roles in this story—it can give and take life, reveal and hide. How does it play these different roles?

7. One of the many motivators for the characters in this story is loneliness. What characters seem to suffer from loneliness? How do adults and children respond to loneliness in different ways? In the same ways?

8. On page 18, the narrator tells us that his father often burnt their toast and always ate it with apparent relish. He also tells us that later in life, his father admitted that he had never actually liked burnt toast, but ate it to avoid waste, and that his father's confession made the narrator's entire childhood feel like a lie: "it was as if one of the pillars of belief that my world had been built upon had crumbled into dry sand." What other "pillars of belief" from childhood does he discover to be false? How do these discoveries affect him? Are there any beliefs from your own childhood that you discovered to be false?

9. When the narrative returns to the present, Old Mrs. Hempstock tells our narrator, "You stand two of you lot next to each other, and you could be continents away for all it means anything" (p. 173). What does she mean by this? Why is it "easier" for people, our narrator especially, to forget certain things that are difficult to reconcile?

10. Though the narrator has a sister, he doesn't seem to be particularly close to her. Why do you think it is that he has trouble relating to other children? Why do you think his sister is not an ally for him?

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

I just finished this, I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks.

[Terry]

I enjoyed the basis of the story itself. The audio version was well read. The scenarios that described the main character’s fantasies of horror where a bit bizarre, extreme and lengthy, in my opinion. I gave it a 3 star.

[Kristina]

I'm about 1/3 through and am finding it to be a lot creepier than I thought it would be!

[Luralie]

I loved this book! While reading, my own childhood imagination was reawakened and I was drawn deeper into the story. I especially enjoyed the ending, which left me with long echoes of positivity & wondrousness.

[Powder River Rose]

The audio version was performed superbly by the author. There are bits that could seem a little creepy to some but it all rounds out in the end. I guess everyone has to make their own decision as to whether what she did was worth the cost, but she felt it so. Good read and if it means anything I highly recommend it to any who like fantasy.

[Kristina]

I finished the book last night. I still don't know how I feel but overall I liked it. The Hempstocks were very enjoyable to read about, and I would like to read more about them and their history.

[Erica]

This was unlike anything I've ever read I can't even begin to explain it but I highly recommend this book for those who haven't read it yet.

[Allyson]

I listened to this one on audible and loved it. I've never actually read a Gaiman book-I just love listening to his take on the story.

[Jennifer]

I just thought this was okay. It appears that I might have enjoyed it more if I listened to it instead. Felt like I missed something!

[Alana]

I thought it was ok, but really weird. I don't think I could describe it as a children's story (monsters a little too dark, father nearly drowning him, the affair, naked woman running around) but it's a book that pulls children back INTO their childhood, but with an adult's memories. It was interesting and thought-provoking, but I wouldn't say I loved it.

[Jean]

I read this one in 2013 and my sentiments were just as you stated Alana. I too rated it 3.

[Rosemarie]

I thought this one was just okay.