Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is the second Neil Gaiman book I've read. The first was American Gods which I got around a quarter of the way through and gave up. I loved the concept of the book but just couldn't get into it. I wasn't ready to give up on Neil Gaiman as so many of my friends and fellow readers seem to love his writing and had great things to say about this novel. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is different then any other novel I've read before. First its closer to a short story then a novel. There isn't a ton of character development, and the story just jumps in and asks you to go along for the ride. I'm going to avoid talking much about the story because its really hard to explain, but in short it reminds me of a childhood fantasy novel with major adult overtones.

I enjoyed The Ocean at the End of the Lane but it still wasn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure I'll be going back to the Neil Gaiman library anytime soon. 

“Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences. I was a child, which meant that I knew a dozen different ways of getting out of our property and into the lane, ways that would not involve walking down our drive.”