The Ocean at the End of the Lane, book review. (Neil Gaiman)

During a visit to the area where he grew up (for a family funeral), our narrator is drawn back to his old stomping ground where he re-experiences a childhood summer living up the lane from Hempstock Farm, Old Mrs Hempstock, her daughter and her granddaughter, Lettie.
The year he met Lettie, Ursula Monkton, and death for the first time, was full of the weird and wonderful, scary and sad, from the opal miner who had recently taken lodgings in his bedroom (meaning he had to share with his sister), killing himself in his parent's car, to a spirit giving out money (which seemed to be the only thing that made humans happy), to Old Mrs Hempstock and her daughter, cooking the most amazing pies, breads, soups and cakes which were so well described I could almost smell them on the page.
Lettie (who appears to be just a few years older than our narrator but has lived a thousand years many times over, has a pond in her garden that she calls an ocean [which, with the assistance of Old Mrs Hempstock, manages to transfer to a bucket later in the story], as well as curling cat tails protruding from the grass which, if you give them a firm enough tug, pull up kittens), takes our narrator with her when she goes to bind the money giving spirit and send it back to its own realm.
When our narrator gets scared and lets go of Lettie’s hand whilst she’s binding the spirit, a worm lodges itself into his foot and, although he manages to get most of it out (in a superbly written but rather gruesome episode in the bathroom), just enough remains, which forms a connection between realms which allows the spirit (Ursula Monkton) to stay, with dire consequences.
As Ursula gets bolder and more powerful, Old Mrs Hempstock has to summons the hunger birds. As the rain lashes and the winds howl, the hunger birds devour the spirit and you think everything is rebalanced but the birds need the tiny piece of worm (Ursula) that’s still inside our narrator, which has worked its way from his foot to his heart. In spite of Old Mrs Hempstock's attempts to banishes the hunger birds, she only succeeds after Lettie makes the ultimate sacrifice to save her friend and so, with deep sadness, she is laid to rest for a while in the ocean - which is back in its rightful place - with the promise that she may return one day.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a mix of fear, loss, loneliness and bitter memories of a time gone by, which Gaiman manages to weave into a tale that can be enjoyed by all. There's fantasy, magic, good and evil, all expertly mixed with a reality that bend the rules, and it’s a rollercoaster of love, wonder and amazement with a cold chill running down your neck, accompanied by the most beautifully threatening illustrations and, like the best books, takes you on a journey that is difficult to forget.
Four Stars for, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, then; the book that has hopefully, got me blogging again.

Don't forget to search my blog for your favourite authors and books and if I haven't read them, message me with your recommendations.

Mad Mike's Writing blog, book of the year 2024

Welcome friends, book bloggers and avid readers alike, to my annual book of the year post. As usual, this post is not about books written or published in 2024, it’s about books I have read. I won’t bore you with a full list, for that you can look me up on Goodreads so, without further ado,

In at number five is: The Familiars by Stacey Halls

Great characters, superb writing and centred around an episode in history I knew nothing about - The Pendle Witch trials of 1612 - The Familiars is a fast-paced historical thriller which drips with secrets, intrigue, fear, hypocrisy and witches, with a constant inference of injustice, in spite the tenacious efforts of or heroine, seventeen-year-old mother to be, Fleetwood Shuttleworth.

The power struggle betwixt Fleetwood and her philandering husband and the pace and tone of the writing reminded me very much of the late great de Maurier and Frenchman’s Creek, which is why this superb debut novel earnt itself four stars and a place in my top five.

 

In fourth place: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Magical.

Scary, too, but magical.

Mixed with fear, lose, loneliness and bitter memories of a time gone by, Gaiman manages to weave a tail that can be enjoyed by everybody. There’s fantasy, magic, good and evil, all expertly mixed with a reality that still seems to bend the rules and it’s a rollercoaster of emotion, from love, wonder and amazement to that cold chill that sometimes runs down the back of your neck. All told, this book is stunning – I read the illustrated edition which wowed me visually, too – and like all good books, takes you on a journey that is difficult to forget. Four stars.

 

In bronze medal position, then: Mosquito by Rowland White

WWII has begun, but in a remote village in Hertfordshire a self-taught aviator, Geoffrey de Havilland, has a plan. He has what he believes the Royal Air Force needs, a twin engine 400 mph fighter, bomber, reconnaissance aeroplane that will take the fight to the enemy and, it’s made of wood!!

In spite the scepticism from the MOD (ministry of defence), de Havilland pressed on and creates possibly the best aeroplane ever made. It was faster than the Spitfire of the time and could carry the fight – with bombs, rockets, cameras or agents – to the enemy, and performed some off the most daring raids of the war.

Mixing history and facts with the first hand accounts of the men who flew the thousands of missions at treetop level over enemy territory, night after night, week after week, month after month for four years, this book takes you to the heart of the battle, be it the quietude of a moonlit field in Zealand, or the smoke filled cockpit of a doomed Mosquito, you get to smell, hear and feel everything and learn what fortitude, valour and hero, really mean.

Four and a Half Stars.

 

So, the runners: Someone Like Me by M. R. Carey

This is a book about domestic abuse, murder in self-defence, kidnapping, multiple personalities, mental health, young love and an imaginary fox, written with a delicacy I wasn't expecting.

From Beth's rise behind Liz's calm exterior, to Beth's cold-blooded ability to not just kill Liz's (her) ex-husband but to dispose of him with such composure is brilliantly executed. As is the relationship between Francine and Jinx, her imaginary animated fox friend that happened to turn up the day she woke after being kidnapped as a young girl. The way they speak, interact - Fran even holds doors open for her fox when she's going to see her therapist - is again, clever and very well executed as is the book in general.

With multiple perspectives: teenagers, adults, the real and the ethereal, the fictional and the fantastical, and the fear, the horror and the tranquillity, I fell that I’ve found an unexpected gem that needs shouting about. Four and a half stars.

 

And the winner: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I have a confession. I was a big tennis fan when I was younger, mid-80s to mid-90s – used to camp on the street to get Wimbledon tickets – which might have skewed my opinion, but let’s face it, this author writes superb books.

Carrie Soto won everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, so, when the new kid on the block closes in on her all-time Grand Slam record, Carrie Soto doesn’t take it lying down and we learn just how hard it is to be at the top: the fastest, fittest, the best.

Told from two timelines, the before and the now, we follow Carrie through the lows, the highs, the sweat and tears, the injury, self-doubt, the constant berating from the media: that she’s passed it, shouldn’t have come out of retirement, is embarrassing herself.

There’s her relationship with her father, the lose of her mother, the possible old flame/love interest and it’s frenetic to say the least, chapters passing in the blink of an eye – it took me just 9 days to read, I just couldn’t put it down.

So, like Daisy Jones & the Six, where you don’t need to be mad on music to enjoy it, I don’t think you need to be a tennis fan to enjoy this, it’s just a fantastically fast paced story full of emotion wrapped up in a sporting environment and is, by me at least, heartily recommended. Five stars.

To finish, I would just like to wish you all the best for 2025 and hope you find happiness in whatever form that takes.