Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Ocean at the End of the Lane

This was a beautiful, dark, sad, and creepy story about childhood trauma. I love how Gaiman writes fantasy, childhood, and horror. I almost liked this more than Coraline.

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xta_07's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

How I feel about this book can best be summed up by a quote from the prologue:
“I make art, sometimes I make true art, and sometimes it fills the empty places in my life.”
This little novel was truly a work of art, silly, scary, and beautiful all at the same time. This has to be the most charming book I’ve ever read that’s been categorized as a “horror novel”.

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mariavdl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

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ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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ramalam98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

I was surprised by how good and readable this was, after struggling with the slow-paced slog that was American Gods last year.

The illustrations are beautiful and really add to the atmosphere created by the mesmerising prose. I’m also impressed by the massive sense of nostalgia this book managed to cause: even though our main character grew up in a different era to me, Neil Gaiman really nailed the experiences of a bookish youth who struggles to understand other people. I also loved the hints at frustration over how differently younger siblings are often treated lol.

The world this book created is so good, Lettie and her ‘family’ are so interesting though I do feel like some of their ‘magic’ was quite conveniently not explained at times.

My only other complaint is that our main character is a bit of a blank slate at times without much special about him, especially as he grows. Though I do believe this may be the point lol. We grow up to become an adult we would not have understood as a child.

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