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Neil Gaiman; The Ocean at the End of the Lane. William Morrow & Company, 2013. 192 pp.
A Neil Gaiman story is always a big deal. Ever since the man released Anansi Boys, his last novel way back in 2005, fans have been waiting with bated breath for his next full work.
Shockingly, a rather hectic schedule meant that The Ocean at the End of the Lane had already been out for a couple of weeks before I managed to read it.
Throughout these two weeks I studiously avoided reading all reviews and features about the book, since too many usually contain spoilers and no pre-warning of their presence.
Yet, I couldn’t resist reading a ‘review’ by his wife, singer Amanda Palmer. More than a review, it was a touching love letter to her husband, an insight into the difficulties that a couple such as these two – with both thrust in the limelight and both possessing the so-called ‘creative temperament’ – must face.
Gaiman himself says of this book that he wrote it intending to explain his childhood and what led him to become the adult he is today, to his wife.
A semi-traditional fairy tale with the Gaiman signature, which is to say that there is more than a shot of darkness
I started reading the book – which is almost a novella really, due to its short length – with very high expectations. I can say that I was not disappointed. The book is a return to classic Gaiman material; a semi-traditional fairy tale with the Gaiman signature, which is to say that there is more than a shot of darkness. Unlike Anansi Boys, it is whimsical, fantastical and innocent, which is what Gaiman does best, really.
The story opens with the narrator returning to his hometown for a funeral. Right after, he decides to pay a visit to the home of his childhood friend Letty in order to sit by the small pond in their garden, which he remembers his friend – now no longer living in the house – referring to as ‘an ocean’.
From this opening premise, we are thrown into a totally different world, the one the narrator grew up in years before. And this world, as is the wont of Gaiman’s worlds, is inhabited by a number of magical creatures.
Some are good, others... not so much. What follows is a straightforward account of two kids versus the forces of evil.
Normally, I would say that a fairy tale featuring two children as heroes belongs in the children’s section. However, this definitely is not the case with Ocean.
As fairy tales go, it is more akin to Gaiman’s Stardust than to Coralline, in spirit. The trials and tribulations the narrator is made to face are adult in theme.
There is the odd, childlike moment that will make you delight in its innocence... however, the continuous stream of subtext refers to purely adult issues
Sure, there is the odd, childlike moment that will make you delight in its innocence. However, the story contains a continuous stream of subtext that refers to purely adult issues.
There are illicit sexual affairs, there is torture, there is death, there is suicide and more mundane things like sibling rivalry and mortgages.
It is to Gaiman’s credit that he weaves all this into his fairy tale without detracting from the ethereal innocence of the story.
For any parents reading this, children will also enjoy the fairy tale, provided they are not too impressionable. Because the monsters in this story are truly scary, imagined in creepy detail and possessing a chilling, other-wordly lack of regard towards human life.
However, at the end of the day, Ocean is not just a story about monsters and evil. It is also a story about hope and about never giving up. The ending is wonderful, revelations and all, with the penultimate chapter plunging the reader into darkness and despair... until the final chapter lifts you out of the darkness and back into the sunshine. Because maybe, just maybe, everything can be alright with the world once again.