what i'm reading: neil gaiman

I have started writing this post five times already. I just don't know how to write a proper review for such a haunting and amazing book. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of the most intriguing and beautiful stories I have read in a long time. Neil Gaiman writes in a way that seems so simple and natural but is truly brilliant and complex. This book is no exception to that. He writes a beautiful story, a man remembering a part of his childhood that leads him to remember an incredible group of women and a series of impossible events, in a voice that resonates within you and draws you in.

I guess this book would be labelled a Fantasy novel but it did not feel like a Fantasy story to me and that was kind of the point. You read it and yes, all these mystical and magical aspects are a part of the story but there is such an honesty to the writing that the lines are blurred between what can and cannot happen in this world. So much of this is because of the voice he has created for the narrator, as he remembers not only what happened, but how it all felt, and he expresses it in such a way that you begin to feel it too.

As I have said before, I do not like writing long reviews with too much detail because I hate spoilers. The best part of reading is discovering what happens in a story. This story has stuck with me since I finished it. It was a fast read for me (mainly because it was so hard to put down) and even as I am halfway through my next book, I find myself wanting to come back to this book again.