I didn\u2019t read the comics even as a child when my father was devoted to \u201cthe funnies\u201d as they were then called. I had never heard of The Sandman Series<\/b> of graphic novels and was only vaguely aware of Gaiman\u2019s other work. I was completely smitten by that speech, so I began paying attention whenever Neil Gaiman was mentioned. In the last month, because of the publication of The Ocean at The End of the Lane<\/b>, Neil Gaiman has been everywhere.<\/p>\n
I have to confess that I cautiously snuck up on this book. Why? Because I am a \u201cscaredy-cat \u201cand I tend to avoid horror novels and movies. I was in college when The Exorcist<\/strong> came out in 1971. My father said, \u201cDon\u2019t read that book.\u201d\u00a0 (He had.) I, of course, took that as a challenge. I should have listened to him. I slept for the next month with a rosary. Ever since then, I tend to avoid books and movies that come with the label of \u201cscary\u201d.<\/p>\n I did read The Ocean at The End of the Lane <\/b>and I can recommend it to you. You need to be aware that it is not a child\u2019s fairy tale even though it is about children and it will linger after you have finished reading it. The book has been reviewed everywhere so I am not going to tell you more than this.The story is about a socially awkward seven-year old boy who lives through books and whose actions accidently release an ancient evil into the world. Suddenly, his life goes all wrong.<\/p>\n The Ocean at The End of the Lane <\/b>is something special because of Gaiman\u2019s ability to give authentic voices to the two children in the story. Gaiman readily admits to having been that little boy \u2013 the premise of the story is based on something that happened to him as a child. Now in his fifties, it is due to his gift as a writer that the reader never doubts the narrator of the story is only seven.<\/p>\n
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