Neil Gaiman has made a career out of telling stories that seem simple, but have a lot of hidden depth. One of his earliest books was Violent Cases, a memoirish story about a broken arm and a doctor who might be in with the mob, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy. Gaiman’s latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, reminds me a lot of Violent Cases. The young narrator and the half remembered story merge together to give a similar vibe. But, this is a much different story and a fun read. Let’s check it out.

Our unnamed narrator is back to his childhood town for a funeral. He finds himself wandering down to his old neighborhood and goes to the neighbor’s house. We then find ourselves back years ago when his family needed to rent out his room to lodgers to make some money. His cat is accidentally killed by one lodger and another lodger steals his father’s car and kills himself. The narrator finds himself making friends with the neighbor, Lettie Hempstock who has a pond out back which she calls an ocean. Lettie takes the narrator on a journey to a strange realm. This is the catalyst that leads a minor evil into our world. Lettie, her Mom and her grandmom want to get rid of the minor evil (which they refer to as a flea) before it brings a greater evil. This evil takes the form of Usula Monkton, the new lodger who will also babysit the narrator and his sister.

The story is very non-narrative as there are many times when you’re not quite sure what is going on. And there are times where we stay with our narrator who is doing nothing while great things are happening in the Hempstock house. But the book is not about the Hempstock. It’s not about Usula Monkton and the minor evil or the bigger evils that will chase her. This book is about the narrator and his memories (or lack thereof) and his mistakes and the way he handles them. It’s a look back at a young boy and his past which is still haunting him.

Overall, this is not a book that you can understand from the plot. There is very little plot in the book and much of it happens off-screen (off-page?). But this is a wonderful little book full or atmosphere and memory. It’s the type of fantasy story that Neil Gaiman specializes in and he does a wonderful job here. Highly recommended.