Audience: Adult

Format: Audiobook/Owned

It was only a duck pond, out at the back of the farm.

- first sentence

Neil Gaiman's voice is amazing. I loved listening to him narrate this story. Basically this story is about growing up and how at seven years old, adults seem so big and important, yet disconnected from childhood. The narrator of the book is an adult who is remembering an event that occurred in his childhood (when it is so much easier to believe in magic and monsters).

I enjoyed the story and especially the narrator's childhood friend, Lettie Hempstock. It was a quick listen and had some creepy parts. It is interesting how much differently we see things as adults compared to how it seems to children. 

I read this for Booklikes-opoly Pandemic Edition, space #19 as a book whose cover is more than 50% blue.

by Neil Gaiman

This is a prime example of what is known as Magical Realism, a story set in the ordinary world that wanders into some magical situations. It's an enchanting story about a man who visits his childhood home and the house of a girl who lived at the end of the lane, Lettie, who became his friend during a difficult time in his life.

The story has a genuine feel to it, as if the author is writing of his own personal experience, yet some of the things that happen challenge believability and bring up the question of how much childhood imagination might color our memories of early years. Gaiman has suggested in interviews that he drew on his own childhood experiences for some of the events in the book, though the reader wonders where childhood imagination leaves off and actual strange occurrences might have actually happened.

The narrative has a dreamy, poetic quality to it at times that suits the story very well. I'm inclined to think it's the best thing Gaiman has ever written, though I haven't read all of his books. Lettie shows the boy alternate realities in a way that feels very real and her family comes over as party to these magical experiences as well.

This is an easy 5 star read and a re-read for me.

I have no words for this. I'm gonna need to sit with this for at least a day or so. I totally had a dream/nightmare about Ursula Monkton too. My heart/soul has goosebumps now.

Some authors should not narrate their own books.  But Neil Gaiman is not one of those authors.  Neil Gaiman should narrate everything:  His books, my shopping lists, your GPS directions.  Listening to Gaiman's narration of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, I just kept thinking "delightful," not just for the story itself (even though that fits), but also for the way Gaiman narrates.  After the story was over, I listened all the way through the acknowledgements, despite Gaiman's helpful comment that "You don't need to listen to this part; it's mostly names."  I would listen to him reading poorly translated instruction manuals.

The story is framed by the protagonist's return, at age 47, to his childhood neighborhood, for a funeral.  He visits a neighboring farm, and remembers fantastical things that happened when he was seven, and his neighbor Lettie, at age 11, went to great lengths to protect him from unbelievable adversaries.  I don't want to say more--just give it a listen!

A gentleman returns to his childhood home and begins to remember something from his past he suppressed or was magically blocked from his mind. As he recalls an old babysitter and her unique introduction to his family he realizes she is not what she seems. A young girl and her family try to help him rid the hold an evil presence. 


Neil Gaiman has a knack for creating stories that seem like they have always been around. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane is told in true fairy tale format. When say fairy tale I don’t mean Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, I mean a story straight from Ireland with actual fairies. Even though the word fairy is not mentioned in the story, the description of how mischievous fairies are is all over the villain. That is what I like about this book and Gaiman’s writing.


My only dislike is that the book is too short. I feel there was so much more could be told about the girl, her mother, and grandmother. Why was there a troublesome in the area of the lake? What was the lake’s history? I hope maybe one day Gaiman will return to those characters in another story. 


I am a sucker for stories with fairies and this one is so much more intriguing. Because I recognize details that come from old Irish folklore. It is also a short read and as I said shorter then I would like but still charming.