21 Jun 2014

The Ocean at the End of the Lane - by Neil Gaiman

As I have said before, I am wary of "fantasy" books and approached this one with reservations. However, only a short way into the book, impossible things began to occur, or, at least, be hinted at, and I was OK with that. I was quite surprised by the extent to which I could suspend my disbelief. 

The first line of the first chapter (which is always supposed to be pivotal) drew me in immediately: "Nobody came to my seventh birthday party."

I think the book is very well written in a plain, accessible style, which found easy going. There was enough pace to the story to keep me coming back for more. Notwithstanding the simple form of much of the writing, I felt that the descriptions of people, places and events were very vivid.

At the end of the book I realized that the narrator (I don't think we ever get to hear his name) still has part of the "wormhole" (a good old sci Fi term) inside him. Is that a possible thread for a sequal?

Overall, a good read and I would be interested to loom at more of the author's work.

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