The Ocean at the End of the Lane

I recently finished The Ocean at the End of the Lane. This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and I have to say, I loved it! I don't know why but I went into it thinking that his writing would be pretentious for some reason, but it was nothing like that. His writing is everything I hope that my writing can be someday--simple yet elegant.

But enough about Mr. Gaiman. The story itself is unique and intriguing. It opens up with a man who goes back to his hometown to attend a funeral, but something draws him back to the home of a childhood friend. He leaves the funeral without telling anyone and heads back the lane that he used to live on.

He remembers the home being occupied by three very interesting women. They are the Hempstocks. First, there is Lettie Hempstock, who the man remembers as a young girl of twelve that befriended him as a child. He remembers that Lettie always called the pond in her backyard an ocean. The other women, Mrs. Hempstock and Old Mrs. Hempstock (Lettie's mother and grandmother) he only vaguely remembers. He can recall nothing else about the three women.

Once he arrives at the Hempstock Farm, he finds that the older women are still there, and they look exactly the same as the last time he was there as a young boy of seven. But how can that be? He tries to remember more about his friendship with Lettie but he has trouble with his memories. He asks old Mrs. Hempstock if he may go by their duck pond--what Lettie called the ocean. She allows him to go and that's when he remembers everything.

The story takes you on a childhood adventure where everything seems possible. You fall in love with the Hempstock women and by the end of the story, you find yourself craving to know more about them. This book is almost like a dark fairy tale. Mysterious and sometimes disturbing, yet beautiful and fantastic.

READ THIS BOOK!