Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: William Morrow 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 181

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; Book Bingo -- 4 from 2013; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: Library Loan

A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Neil Gaiman’s first new novel for adults since his #1 New York Times bestseller Anansi Boys.

This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real...

I love how all of Gaiman's books and stories start out fairly normal.  You think you're in the world we know.  But then, a few pages or a few chapters in, something happens that is not normal.  Something appears to throw off our balance.  And we find ourselves in a world not quite like ours.  This story is no exception.  The first chapter lulls you into a sense of normalcy and then bam! you're thrown into something completely different.  I loved this little novel about a boy's adventures with "other" things.  Since it is told in flashback, I can even imagine the man sitting beside the pond recollecting long forgotten memories of childhood.  It's such a peaceful and yet disturbing moment.  And as with all Gaiman stories, I could not predict the ending.  I had no idea what was going to happen.  That made the story all the more fascinating and engaging.  Overall, a short but powerful piece.