Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a nice, short tale about the disconnect between childhood and adulthood. Neil Gaiman is a novelist responsible many popular works including Stardust, The Sandman, Coraline and many more. Gaiman usually write for comics and young adult fiction, but dabbles in adult fiction on an irregular basis. I actually feel that this book could have been categorized as a young adult book because of the age of the characters and aspects of a fantasy story. There are a few "adult themed" portions of the book, but they are minimal and very tame. I guess Mr. Gaiman just wanted to sell some books to adults. Can't blame the guy.

So let's get to the book. The story starts off with an unnamed male character returning to his old neighborhood for a funeral. While visiting, he remembers an old friend, Lettie Hempstock and decides to stop at her old house down the lane. At the end of the lane, stands a pond that Lettie used to refer as her ocean. Our protagonist is flooded with memories of forgotten tales. Those tales are extraordinary and extremely devastating.

I really appreciate Gaiman's narrative and the driving force behind this story. It's not really a coming of age story. It's not a story of the reluctant hero, even though you may argue that fact about the main character. He is just too young and get's scared easily. Can't really blame him here. Not many kids are willing to fight the supernatural, many are afraid of the dark or spiders or great white sharks or whatever. It's a very realistic approach to life, most of the time you will need a hand when life gets difficult. Lettie Hempstock is the main character's protector, problem solver and savior throughout the book. The main character is forced to forget what happens in his childhood to protect his innocence. I'm not a parent myself, but I know that parents are always looking to protect their children, and ensure a healthy adulthood, even if they have to manipulate a story or tell little white lies. I guess that's where the difference between young adult and adult fiction lies. If this were a YA book, the main character would have risen to the occasion and tried to find a way to beat the odds. Its a subtle change, but it speaks volumes about the transition from childhood to adulthood.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a modern day fairy tale, that's well written and tells a great story. The aspects of fantasy are highly apparent in this book even though I don't elude to them very often in this review. It's super short too, and you can get through it pretty quickly.

I give The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 4 out of 5 Burning Lariats.