{"id":1300,"date":"2014-11-25T21:18:01","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T05:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/?p=1300"},"modified":"2014-11-25T21:18:01","modified_gmt":"2014-11-26T05:18:01","slug":"ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-a-double-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/2014\/11\/25\/ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane-a-double-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean at the End of the Lane – A Double Review!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following two articles were written by K and B, members of North’s <\/em>Bibliophile\u00a0blog.\u00a0They couldn’t decide who enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s book more so they both submitted a review. Thanks K and B! You can also check out more Bibliophile articles here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Lettie’s Ocean<\/p><\/div>\n

Are you a fan of fantasy books? Perhaps you seek the thrill of an adventure, or\u00a0wonder of the magic that could be masked behind our daily-lives?<\/p>\n

If so, say no more. In Neil Gaiman\u2019s newest novel, \u201cThe Ocean at the End of the Lane\u201d, readers are exposed to the past of a boy\u2019s life that appears ordinary at first glance, but grows into something much more mythical as otherworldly beings rise to threaten his life and the world\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

The story follows a middle-aged man who finds himself returning to the site of his old house, in which\u00a0he had spent memorable years of his childhood in. With time to spare, he decides to take a spin around to survey the area. What catches his attention is an old farmhouse around the corner.<\/p>\n

This farm, he vaguely remembers, belonged to an old childhood friend.<\/p>\n

As he ponders about her, old memories return to him, of a time when he was just a young boy,\u00a0when his life seemed dull yet mellow. It was the presence and death of an opal miner, a towering man with a weakened disposition that would lead him to meet such a girl. That girl, she was wise beyond her years. She was strong, standing steadfast against the face of danger. She was caring, vowing that she would keep him safe. She was Lettie, the one and only.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed this book most of all on account\u00a0of how\u00a0lovable the characters were. There is also the mystery of the pond, which Lettie insists is\u00a0an ocean, but that is up to the reader to determine.\u00a0While reading this\u00a0novel, it brought me back to\u00a0my own <\/em>childhood, where I would stay up at\u00a0night just to finish a good old fantasy book.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for fantasy, but want something that\u00a0fits your reading level, try this one for size. It\u2019s a rather quick read and gets more and more interesting as you progress through it.<\/p>\n

Are you a fan of fantasy books? Perhaps you seek the thrill of an adventure, or\u00a0wonder of the magic that could be masked behind our daily-lives?<\/p>\n

If so, say no more. In Neil Gaiman\u2019s newest novel, \u201cThe Ocean at the End of the Lane\u201d, readers are exposed to the past of a boy\u2019s life that appears ordinary at first glance, but grows into something much more mythical as otherworldly beings rise to threaten his life and the world\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

The story follows a middle-aged man who finds himself returning to the site of his old house, in which\u00a0he had spent memorable years of his childhood in. With time to spare, he decides to take a spin around to survey the area. What catches his attention is an old farmhouse around the corner.<\/p>\n

This farm, he vaguely remembers, belonged to an old childhood friend.<\/p>\n

As he ponders about her, old memories return to him, of a time when he was just a young boy,\u00a0when his life seemed dull yet mellow. It was the presence and death of an opal miner, a towering man with a weakened disposition that would lead him to meet such a girl. That girl, she was wise beyond her years. She was strong, standing steadfast against the face of danger. She was caring, vowing that she would keep him safe. She was Lettie, the one and only.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed this book most of all on account\u00a0of how\u00a0lovable the characters were. There is also the mystery of the pond, which Lettie insists is\u00a0an ocean, but that is up to the reader to determine.\u00a0While reading this\u00a0novel, it brought me back to\u00a0my own <\/em>childhood, where I would stay up at\u00a0night just to finish a good old fantasy book.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for fantasy, but want something that\u00a0fits your reading level, try this one for size. It\u2019s a rather quick read and gets more and more interesting as you progress through it.<\/p>\n

\n

There is a clear reason why\u00a0The Ocean at the End of th<\/strong>e<\/strong>\u00a0Lane<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0was praised\u00a0as one of Time Magazine’s best books of the year for 2013. \u00a0Impeccably written, Neil Gaiman introduces us to the fragility of childhood and the adversities one must overcome at a young age.<\/p>\n

\"

The Ocean at the End of the Lane<\/strong><\/span><\/a> is one of Neil Gaiman’s most emotionally uplifting books to date.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The story begins with a middle-aged man who drives nonchalantly back to his childhood home to attend a funeral. \u00a0He has not returned in years. Immediately, he is drawn to his vaguely familiar surroundings–there is a farm to the right which belonged to the Hempstocks, and a secluded pond at the end of the lane. \u00a0It is here that the unnamed man has a sudden epiphany about a friendly girl named, Lettie Hempstock, and that she commonly referred to the pond as her “ocean”.<\/p>\n

A flood of past memories soon wash over him, and the man retrospectively recounts his childhood as a young boy with explicit details. \u00a0He has an abusive father, a vexatious sister, and a dreadfully scary sitter, Ursula Monkton, who looms over his every move and daily activities. What is possibly most unique about\u00a0The Ocean at the End of th<\/strong>e<\/strong>\u00a0Lane<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is that it is not afraid to stray away from realism. \u00a0The Hempstocks can be referred to as seemingly mystical introverts who use “magic” to shine light against the persistent dark creatures who try to overtake the world.<\/p>\n

Ursula Monkton, being one of these creatures,\u00a0somehow emerges into the real world and tries to make the young boy as miserable as possible. \u00a0Taking on\u00a0eerily various forms, she stalks the boy and randomly\u00a0appears out of nowhere to detract\u00a0him from his slivers of happiness. \u00a0His loyal friend, Lettie Hempstock, is one of the only characters who understands and provides him genuine kindness during difficult situations. \u00a0Lettie serves as his companion\u00a0through the dark and cruel things the young boy bears witness to, and helps to overcome these challenges.<\/p>\n

As absurd as the fantasy aspect of the book sounds, it reveals a great deal of the human condition–how childhood memories inevitably shape our lives and remain with us forever. Every struggle and adversity of a child who vies to find his purpose in life is reflected in one of Neil Gaiman’s most fascinating reads to date.<\/p>\n

It takes readers back to their own childhood and how we have coped with our personal fears and\u00a0uneasiness. \u00a0This is must-read for everyone interested in the struggles and vulnerability of a child and the emotional feelings associated with it. \u00a0While not a fairly lengthy book, it has a lasting impact which is likely to stay vivid in reader’s memories for years to come.<\/p>\n

\n

Source image:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/s831.photobucket.com\/user\/8ftmusic\/media\/afp\/blog\/20130618\/ocean3d_zpsd0cb2935.png.html<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following two articles were written by K and B, members of North’s Bibliophile\u00a0blog.\u00a0They couldn’t decide who enjoyed Neil Gaiman’s book more so they both submitted a review. Thanks K and B! You can also check out more Bibliophile articles … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1064,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1064"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1300"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1303,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1300\/revisions\/1303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/north-library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}