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Lizreader

Lizreader's Blog

Also known as Liz on GR. I am here, but really just planting the seed. I am a student who likes all kinds of books, and I'll be honest about what I think about them.

Currently reading

The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman Well that took me quite awhile to finish, mostly because I was in a dreaded reading slump since around the middle of June and got out of it recently. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman was a good book, but as with most things Neil Gaiman writes it's a hit or miss for me. What I can say is that I loved this book more than American Gods and Anansi Boys. However, this book will never gain the place of honor among my top favorites of Neverwhere and The Sandman series. That being said what I like most about this book was the experience of a child living in an adult world, and looking back at ones childhood. It's extremely well done, and Neil Gaiman always has a way with writing characters (for the most part) you can connect with. The story was rather interesting, and more along the lines of what I like seeing from Gaiman. The Hempstocks were especially delightful because he never comes out and says who they are, but you get the sense of who they are without being told exactly what they are. If that makes any sense to begin with.Gaiman's writing style in this is Gaiman at his best. It's fluid, lyrical, and every time I read it his voice pops into my head reading as I read it (this is the first time it happened). However, there are some things I didn't like. I felt like the pacing was off in the middle of the book, normally by the time I get to a middle of a Gaiman novel I never want to stop reading. That might have been the reading slump I was in more than the book, but I am still putting that out there.Other things I didn't like I can't be really specific about. I liked Lettie, but we never got a clear sense of why she meant so much to our lead protagonist even though he talks a lot about her and being one of his only friends. It's more of a feeling that I got that I cannot really explain well than anything the author had done. It's a good book and I would recommend it to most people, but I just had higher expectations. That's all. It's still really good.