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 2023

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

In at number five is: Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez.
This collection of short stories is exactly as advertised on the cover and, as with all collections of stories I guess - the ones I've read anyway - there are ones that stand out but none were lacklustre; none failed, in my opinion. All the stories here have a little something about them and Enriquez’s style is very much no holds barred, which unifies them, be they spooky, bloody, fierce, scary, sad or obscene, they're written with passion and well worth the time it takes to read them. If pushed, my favourites were: Adela’s House, Under the Black Water and, Things We Lost in the Fire.
Creepy, and excellent for it.

In fourth place this year: The Shining by Stephen King.

You know the writing's good when five hundred pages pass in the blink of an eye. With a dead women in a bath, a lift that works on its own, topiary that attacks and kills, a ballroom full of people when its actually empty, all mixed up with the claustrophobia of being holed up (albeit in a massive hotel), in such an isolated and snowbound location, with a man who is slowly losing his mind, a woman whose fear virtually drips from the page and a little boy who sees more with his mind than with his eyes, you end up with a truly fabulous book. If, like me, you choose to read this book during a dark dank November, then you might just be looking over your shoulder at the slightest thing. Shivers down the spine. One of his best (that I've read).

In bronze medal position, then: Operation Pedestal by Max Hastings
I know books like this aren't for everyone; they are horrific beyond measure, garner images of brutality few would actually enjoy reading about but, amidst all the carnage, books like this are full of hope, love and joy and above all, books like Operation Pedestal are so ruthlessly researched, so expertly written and so gripping that you feel like you can taste the salt of the sea air, feel the warmth of the Mediterranean sun and hear the drone of incoming dive-bombers as you learn about this most dramatic of historical events. I for one, am very glad that books like this exist and whole heartily recommend them to all but the youngest of readers.
Need I say it; Five Stars.
 

So, the runners up spot goes to: Good Omens (0r, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch), which is the correct and full title of this hilarious novel, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
Never before (and never again I suspect), have I read a book like it. It is immaculately written, funny - very funny - serious and is full of characters you can either relate to or would want to be friends with. Maybe not the four horsemen of the Apocalypse though, don't befriend them! They ride motorbikes by the way and although DEATH, War & Famine have survived, Pestilence had to retire in 1936 due to advances in medicine but fear not, they're joined by, rather fittingly, Pollution. Also, the world’s ending. Next Saturday in fact, just around teatime!
I’ll definitely do a full blog post on this one as it’s one of the best books I've read in a long time and certainly the funniest, and so I see nothing else for it but to recommend it to the big wide world, kick myself for not reading it sooner and award Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, five stars.
 

And the winner, my book of the year 2023 is: Imajica by Clive Barker.
The world building in this book is second to none and juxtaposes its extreme wonders with a London as mundane as it would be on a rain-soaked Tuesday commute in January, which grounds the reader whilst letting their imagination fly, which I found very clever.
Fantasy isn't a genre I necessarily gravitate towards but when a book is this well written I would argue that genre is irrelevant and so, on that basis, let us disregard that and focus on the facts. This book, in spite of its magic, its world building, its fantastical dominions and all those that live and die there, is about love. The deepest love a person can feel. The love that sometimes drives people to do silly, dangerous and illegal things but, above all, LOVE. (Okay, it's about sex too, quite a lot of sex in fact but we'll gloss over that for this mini review). And because we all love, be it a partner, a parent, friends, the cat, art, music or someone we shouldn't, this book will definitely have something within its pages for each and every one of you.

Imajica. Probably the best book you’ve never read and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Five Gold Stars.
                                       

To finish, I would just like to wish you all a very happy New Year and hope you find happiness in 2024, in whatever form that might take.