The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Guardian. Reading can take us to places that are both familiar and very different. In Neil Gaiman’s capable hands, readers of his novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, leap into a setting that blurs reality and appearance, and to a plot that’s wildly imaginative and close to anyone’s coming of age experience. The narrator returns at age forty to the home where magical things happened to him at age seven. We learn through his recollections of the way he was protected by some unusual neighbors who guarded him from danger. The pond at the end of the lane was somehow also an ocean, and the guardian was more than a neighbor. The mythic themes will delight close readers, and the well-told story will engage all readers in the joy of a sad and poignant tale. I read the novel quickly, and enjoyed in from beginning to end. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Ocean at the End of the Lane from amazon.com.