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A review by ciphertextx
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
4.0
How does one even categorise a Neil Gaiman book anyway?
Neverwhere is a story about Richard, a normal guy who steps in to help an injured young woman on the streets of London. His interaction with her causes him to "slip though the cracks" of the world. People start forgetting about him, they stop paying attention, they seem to stop being able to perceive him at all. He finds himself without a job, without a home, and without access to his money or amenities. He winds up in London Below, where those who have slipped through the cracks go. He goes on a quest with the girl whom he saved (Door is her name), is thoroughly confused the entire time, and somehow manages not to have a complete and permanent nervous breakdown.
I was really unsure of this to begin with. The start was vaguely boring, the writing style was a little unbearable at times (how many commas can a person use in just ONE sentence??). But the plot became interesting, and it never stopped getting more interesting even right up until the end of the book. Intrigue builds with every page. The world is unique and sort of supernatural. Richard is a realistic, sympathetic, sometimes funny, often painfully English main character. And I got over my aversion to the name because his characterisation makes up for it. The other characters are strong and sketchy that I never really knew exactly who to trust, but I was just enjoying being along for the ride. Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup were really scary, eerie, utterly unforgiving villains. Foreshadowing is sprinkled generously throughout (although I still didn't see who had hired Croup and Vandemar, because I'm dense, but I DID figure out who the traitor was only by process of elimination). It had lots of Cool Little Things in it, much like [b: The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531295292s/2213661.jpg|2219449] did, such as the Angel Islington, Mind the Gap, and Earl's Court. Also thoroughly enjoyed the bizarre bartering system London Below uses.
About 120 pages in, I started to get used to the writing, and I actually found it to be witty and dry and matter-of-fact, and it worked really well with the story. It paved the way for some really dark, macabre humour. "The Marquis de Carabas was being crucified." Still far too many commas, though. It's just unforgivable.
The start of the ending felt so wrong to me. I was thinking "that's IT? it's THAT easy?" but then A Thing happened right in the final lines and I was like "ah, yes, this is much better, much more in keeping with the tone and feel of the book".
Being unsure about the book to start with, I was extra unsure about Richard. I hate the name, and that combined with the writing...bleh. But I grew to like him quickly. He proves himself to be an overall good person early on, and when he's faced with the fact that he's alone and no one in his world can seem to perceive him, he just sits down and cries about it. Which is such a human and realistic reaction.
Near the end, one of Richard's work colleagues invites him out. And it proved Richard is just the Most Relatable. Here is how that exchange went.
"A bunch of us are going out this evening. Do you fancy coming along?"
"Um. Sure," he said. "Yes. I'd love that."
He hated it.
My favourite character, however, has to be the Marquis de Carabas. Why, you ask? Well...
Richard wondered how the Marquis managed to make being pushed around in a wheelchair look a romantic and swashbuckling thing to do.
This book was an odd mix of fantasy, humour, and horror. It was very Gaiman. No other words to describe it. Four stars and not five because I hate the name "Richard" and because of the excessive overuse of COMMAS.
Neverwhere is a story about Richard, a normal guy who steps in to help an injured young woman on the streets of London. His interaction with her causes him to "slip though the cracks" of the world. People start forgetting about him, they stop paying attention, they seem to stop being able to perceive him at all. He finds himself without a job, without a home, and without access to his money or amenities. He winds up in London Below, where those who have slipped through the cracks go. He goes on a quest with the girl whom he saved (Door is her name), is thoroughly confused the entire time, and somehow manages not to have a complete and permanent nervous breakdown.
I was really unsure of this to begin with. The start was vaguely boring, the writing style was a little unbearable at times (how many commas can a person use in just ONE sentence??). But the plot became interesting, and it never stopped getting more interesting even right up until the end of the book. Intrigue builds with every page. The world is unique and sort of supernatural. Richard is a realistic, sympathetic, sometimes funny, often painfully English main character. And I got over my aversion to the name because his characterisation makes up for it. The other characters are strong and sketchy that I never really knew exactly who to trust, but I was just enjoying being along for the ride. Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup were really scary, eerie, utterly unforgiving villains. Foreshadowing is sprinkled generously throughout (although I still didn't see who had hired Croup and Vandemar, because I'm dense, but I DID figure out who the traitor was only by process of elimination). It had lots of Cool Little Things in it, much like [b: The Graveyard Book|2213661|The Graveyard Book|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531295292s/2213661.jpg|2219449] did, such as the Angel Islington, Mind the Gap, and Earl's Court. Also thoroughly enjoyed the bizarre bartering system London Below uses.
About 120 pages in, I started to get used to the writing, and I actually found it to be witty and dry and matter-of-fact, and it worked really well with the story. It paved the way for some really dark, macabre humour. "The Marquis de Carabas was being crucified." Still far too many commas, though. It's just unforgivable.
The start of the ending felt so wrong to me. I was thinking "that's IT? it's THAT easy?" but then A Thing happened right in the final lines and I was like "ah, yes, this is much better, much more in keeping with the tone and feel of the book".
Being unsure about the book to start with, I was extra unsure about Richard. I hate the name, and that combined with the writing...bleh. But I grew to like him quickly. He proves himself to be an overall good person early on, and when he's faced with the fact that he's alone and no one in his world can seem to perceive him, he just sits down and cries about it. Which is such a human and realistic reaction.
Near the end, one of Richard's work colleagues invites him out. And it proved Richard is just the Most Relatable. Here is how that exchange went.
"A bunch of us are going out this evening. Do you fancy coming along?"
"Um. Sure," he said. "Yes. I'd love that."
He hated it.
My favourite character, however, has to be the Marquis de Carabas. Why, you ask? Well...
Richard wondered how the Marquis managed to make being pushed around in a wheelchair look a romantic and swashbuckling thing to do.
This book was an odd mix of fantasy, humour, and horror. It was very Gaiman. No other words to describe it. Four stars and not five because I hate the name "Richard" and because of the excessive overuse of COMMAS.