Read for the RIP VIII Reading Challenge.
A middle aged man has returned to the town he grew up in for a funeral. Afterwards, he drives around aimlessly, and realizes that he is drawn to the farm at the end of the lane from where he grew up. When he was young, he remembered that a girl named Lettie lived there, before she moved to Australia. He stops at the farm, and sees Lettie’s grandmother, who lets him wander around the farm. When he sees a pond, he stops in his tracks, and remembers.
Lettie was far more than a little girl – in one terrifying week when he was little, Lettie saved him and his family from a terrible evil that was trying to take over his family, and then the world. He’s forgotten all this, but the pond was what Lettie used to call her Ocean, and brings all his memories of the event back.
I really enjoyed this book – it’s creepy without being outright terrifying. It also has a faint autobiographical tinge to it, which helps with the authentic feel. This is a story that feels real, and the forgetting makes it more plausible. I love Neil Gaiman – he keeps writing things that really speak to me.
Hi Megan,
I enjoyed this one a lot too. My first Neil Gaiman(!) but there will be more. I liked how this book made me think about memories and how they can change – or not. My post about the book is at http://bibliophilica.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/neil-gaimans-the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane/
If you're interested. 🙂
-Jay
I'm excited to read this one! Neil Gaiman is so good at creating a delightfully creepy atmosphere.
Jay, this was your first Gaiman? Lucky you! You have so many really great books to still read! Don't know if you like graphic novels or not (I don't tend to read them, but my BF is a collector). Even if you don't, his Sandman series is worth reading.
Thanks for the recommendation – I will make a note of it. 🙂
I also really loved this but confess that I'm a tiny bit fangirly about anything Gaiman so not sure that I'm always totally unbiased!
So glad to read your review.
Lynn 😀
@Lynn – I tend to agree. I go into any of his books expecting to enjoy them.