Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First of all, the book was not what I had expected, when I first read the teaser. But then, Gaiman's books NEVER turn out to meet your expectations. You always have to be prepared to approach his books with open minds and let him take you down untrodden paths. If you aren't you won't be able to thoroughly enjoy his books.

"The Ocean" is not a children's book, even though it was written from the POV of a 7 year old boy. It's a fairy tale for grown-ups, very dark, very scary sometimes and also quite sad. You may ask: Didn't they teach us in Introduction to Literaturen 101 that a story needs a character we can identify with in order to speak out to the respective reading audience? How can I, an adult, enjoy a book that's written from the perspective of a child? The secret - and the answer to the question - is easy enough: we were all 7 years old once, and it is easy to remember the things that scared us and soothed us and made us sad or happy back then.
Especially with someone like Gaiman who is willing and able to take us back to where we once were: living in the body and with the mind of a child.

A great book, maybe not Gaiman's very best, but definitely worth reading.

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