The Ocean at the End of the Lane

· Hachette UK
4.4
528 reviews
Ebook
143
Pages

About this ebook

THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 'BOOK OF THE YEAR'

AN ACCLAIMED WEST END THEATRE PRODUCTION *****

'Neil Gaiman's entire body of work is a feat of elegant sorcery. He writes with such assurance and originality that the reader has no choice but to surrender to a waking dream' ARMISTEAD MAUPIN

'Some books just swallow you up, heart and soul' JOANNE HARRIS

'Summons both the powerlessness and wonder of childhood, and the complicated landscape of memory and forgetting' GUARDIAN

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'My favourite response to this book is when people say, 'My childhood was nothing like that - and it was as if I was reading about me' NEIL GAIMAN

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This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane:

A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse.
An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made.
A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile.
And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed.

They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edges of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved . . .

NEIL GAIMAN.
WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

Ratings and reviews

4.4
528 reviews
Lee Evans
January 18, 2014
It has been a long time since I have had a book which will not allow me to stop reading and thinking about it, a constant hunger to know where the pages will take you next. A child's fairytale told with real characters in a typical English countryside setting, but where the author reveals a fascinating second new level of reality with fantasy and horror without slipping into using fantasy's cliche characters. Very original and touching. Superb!
5 people found this review helpful
David Bilson
August 3, 2014
I am an avid reader of Neil Gaiman. The only real quibble I have is I didn't want it to end. It takes you back to childhood . When adults were omnipotent and fairies lived at the bottom of the garden, It makes you feel again the powerlessness that only the very young or very old can feel. Brought me almost to tears in places. I could go on. But suffice to say. This is a dark fairytale that enables you to see the world through different eyes. You won't regret reading this book.
7 people found this review helpful
Seb Gonzalez
January 12, 2014
Great quality writing from an author that manages to save me from a few bad apples of a book that I've picked up in the past. This story has suspense some relatable and some fantastical and is all beautifully written. Look forward to reading more from Neil.
1 person found this review helpful

About the author

Neil Gaiman is the No.1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television for all ages, and is known for creating extraordinary worlds beyond imagination. He has been awarded numerous literary honours and many of his books have been made into films and adapted for TV and radio. In recent years, Neil wrote and was the showrunner for a critically acclaimed television adaptation of Good Omens, the seminal novel he co-authored with the late Sir Terry Pratchett. He has also written two episodes of Doctor Who and appeared in The Simpsons as himself. In 2017, Neil became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He received a Doctor of Letters from the University of St Andrews, is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College and is a Royal Society of Literature fellow. Born in the UK, Neil now mostly lives in America, and travels all around the world every year appearing at festivals, events and conventions.

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