The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane By: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Adult Fiction, Literature, Fantasy,

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Intro

I just cannot get on the Neil Gaimen band wagon! I feel really bad about this because he is a very creative writer and a strong advocate for libraries, not to mention a writer for Doctor Who. But his work just simply tends to not be my cup of tea.

Summary:
"The Ocean at the End of the Lane" is a short tale about a lonely bookish seven-year old and his misadventures once his life takes a terrifying turn into a dark and creepy reality. The child is never named, which I thought was odd. 

The child lives in the lovely English countryside of Sussex--the same environment where the author grew up. And like Gaiman, the child is wise, responsible, and moral beyond his years. The parents are blithely confident that nothing bad could happen to their brilliant bookish son in such a bucolic setting. But of course, bad things can, and do happen...


My Thoughts:
Again I hate to say this, but I didn't enjoy the story at all. It didn't bother me that the main character is a young child, although I expect that may be a hang up for some adult readers. The prose is in its own way good, it just doesn't sing. Also there is the huge issue of magic, demons being at the core of this novel. I don’t have a problem with all fantasy. And it is not simply the presence of magic that made this work un-enjoyable. It is the way the magic is presented. I personally feel conviction when I read a novel that has magic in the real world. And especially when they bring spiritual matters into the novel which is what happens when demons appear in the novel. Demons, I might add that are presented in a un-biblical context.

In addition to all this, there is an affair which the young un-named boy gets a good view of taking place between his father and the witch more than once. Then, toward the end of the novel, there is a naked woman. I found this really odd there is about fifty pages where there is a naked woman around with a little boy. Why, I ask do people always have to be naked in books that are considered "literature"? 

I am a fan of fantasy but just not this kind. I enjoy a good mystery, but not like this where EVERYTHING is in a riddle. I really wanted to like this book, but I but between the endless riddles the affairs I just couldn't enjoy it at all.