The Ocean at the End of the Lane

mass market paperback, 256 pages

English language

Published June 28, 2016 by Neil Gaiman, William Morrow.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-245936-7

(1 review)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a 2013 novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The work was first published on 18 June 2013 through William Morrow and Company and follows an unnamed man who returns to his hometown for a funeral and remembers events that began forty years earlier. The illustrated edition of the work was published on 5 November 2019, featuring the artwork of Australian fine artist Elise Hurst.Themes in The Ocean at the End of the Lane include the search for self-identity and the "disconnect between childhood and adulthood".Among other honours, it was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards.

42 editions

Aaron reviewed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Review of 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This was like reading Neverwhere again. Except the main character is a child not 30ish. And I'm 30 odd, not a child.

It pretty much hits all the beats of Gaiman story, but here the structure creaks and groans. He mixes Coraline with Neverwhere, with American Gods, all the elements are there, and none of them feel original, or interesting. The quirky mystery of the Hempstocks was just annoying rather than alluring.

The main character has no agency, he just gets thrown from event to event, and his big heroic moment has him literally sitting still for hours.

No, I didn't like this at all. It's so bad that it may have tainted the earlier, better Gaiman stories, and that makes me kinda sad...