Hey friends!
I have a mini review for you today! A mini review is my short and sweet analysis of a book. You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend. It's actually perfect for this book, a short review for a short book.
I have a mini review for you today! A mini review is my short and sweet analysis of a book. You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend. It's actually perfect for this book, a short review for a short book.
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 181
Source: Costco
Genre: Fantasy
Review Date: July 7, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
Release Date: January 1, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 181
Source: Costco
Genre: Fantasy
Review Date: July 7, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.
Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie—magical, comforting, wise beyond her years—promised to protect him, no matter what.
This was a book club read, and it lead to some lively conversation. Almost everyone thought that the book was just "okay". Personally I liked it, but that's it. With all the accolades all over the internet and printed on 4 pages between the back cover and inside, I was expecting a masterpiece. That just didn't ring true for me. I believe that I can safely say that this book was mostly hype. Now don't misunderstand, I didn't hate it, I liked it overall.
I loved the that it was a fantasy told by way of a childhood memory. Gaiman's writing was fluid and was easy to read. The book got bonus points for the writing style. I enjoyed reading a book from male POV, which I personally don't come across too often. It was a very fast read and kept my attention, I was just looking for answers and details that we never got.
The story had so much potential, it just didn't give me enough. When started the book, I read about 40 pages and really wondered what was really going on. Being that the book was so short, I wanted to know more about certain things early on. I wanted more of the story behind Lettie, her mother and grandmother. Where they came from. Why she thought it would be a good idea to pull a child into a situation dealing with a demon of sorts. Heck, I wanted to know how the demon took on a human form. I wanted to know how the thing was controlling the father and sister, or was she at all? Just so much unanswered. I guess I should have expect only so much detail with 181 pages.
Would I recommend this to others? Probably not. On second thought, I would to those who've read Neil Gaiman before and enjoyed his stories. Did you read The Ocean at the End of the Lane? If so, tell me what you thought!
Happy Reading,
~Tamara
I loved the that it was a fantasy told by way of a childhood memory. Gaiman's writing was fluid and was easy to read. The book got bonus points for the writing style. I enjoyed reading a book from male POV, which I personally don't come across too often. It was a very fast read and kept my attention, I was just looking for answers and details that we never got.
The story had so much potential, it just didn't give me enough. When started the book, I read about 40 pages and really wondered what was really going on. Being that the book was so short, I wanted to know more about certain things early on. I wanted more of the story behind Lettie, her mother and grandmother. Where they came from. Why she thought it would be a good idea to pull a child into a situation dealing with a demon of sorts. Heck, I wanted to know how the demon took on a human form. I wanted to know how the thing was controlling the father and sister, or was she at all? Just so much unanswered. I guess I should have expect only so much detail with 181 pages.
Would I recommend this to others? Probably not. On second thought, I would to those who've read Neil Gaiman before and enjoyed his stories. Did you read The Ocean at the End of the Lane? If so, tell me what you thought!
Happy Reading,
~Tamara
