From the Bookshelf of Around the World in 80 Books…

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman

Start date: June 1, 2014

Finish date: June 30, 2014

Discussion: Group Reads Discussions

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Group Reads Discussions

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By Diane , Armchair Tour Guide · 3 posts · 1369 views

last updated Jan 18, 2013 07:12PM

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What Members Thought

May 09, 2013 Nadine in NY Jones rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, book-club-read

I'm sad to say that I did not love this book. The entire story is told with a certain detachment: 40-something year old man, back home for a funeral after a long time way, sits by a pond and remembers his apparently-not-very-happy youth. He tells the story as the memories surface, so we are twice removed right there. The writing was solid (of course) but the style didn't work for me with this story. This is the first adult non-comic-book I've read by Gaiman, so maybe the style just doesn't work ...more

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Jun 10, 2015 Lori rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-club, fantasy

I LOVED this book!!! We read it for book club and I sat down at 7.30 pm and finished it by 10.30 pm. Granted, it's only 178 pages long, but I couldn't put it down. This my third Gaiman book I've read and they all have a mystical, fairy tale quality to them, not to mention creepy. We talked at book club about how we couldn't get the story out of our heads. The sign of a good book. ...more

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Jul 07, 2013 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fable, fantasy, british, horror

Beautiful fairy tale for adults. Every horror that you imagined from your childhood showed up here. Neil Gaiman, as usual, can fill you with his flowing words, even the gross parts still sounded beautiful :) Oh, and the acknowledgment part? It's also beautiful. How did he do it? It's beyond mystery! ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: magic-sci-fi-fantasy, kindle, book-club-dm

A friend told me that this book reads like a little boy's nightmare, and I can't think of any better way to describe it. Gaiman rarely tells you what things are. He just alludes and hints and lets you draw your own conclusion. It was the same thing in The Graveyard Book. And that's fine, except I know my imagination isn't as whacked as Gaiman's, so I can't always understand what he's alluding to. That's frustrating. I rated this three stars because that is in the middle, and I can't decide if I ...more

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