The Ocean at the End of the Lane audiobook

Adults are content to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the spaces between fences. This book is childhood.Are all Neil Gaiman books like this? So beautifully, hauntingly nostalgic? I confess, this is my first; but right now I am logging into amazon to make sure it isn't my last. I have one criticism, which is that this book isn't really an adult book. The few adult scenes felt added as an afterthought to try and convince us little people that this is actually a very grown-up kinda story. But, take out that dodgy sex scene, and I would have been mesmerised and terrified by this book as a kid, perhaps even more than I was reading it today. It has everything that we could possibly ask for in childhood: magic, adventure, overcoming fears, those things that children know and adults no longer understand or remember, and it's all wrapped up in a tidy 180 pages. There's an almost dreamlike quality to the story and there are many reasons it's hard to know what's real and what is not. The book opens with a middle-aged man revisiting the place where he used to live with his parents and sister when he was a young boy of seven. He visits his old house before wandering down to the farm at the end of the lane, a place that starts to bring back a strange sequence of memories as seen through the eyes of a young boy. How real are the magic and monsters of our childhood? When we look back and see ignorant youths believing in the impossible, are we enlightened adults? Or are we the ignorant ones, blinded by years dedicated to being sensible and not believing? Are the villains we remember monsters from another world? Or is that just how children make sense of the people who brought upheaval into their lives?I found it truly fascinating.The creepy yet beautiful setting in the English countryside was fantastic. A little lonely, somewhat isolated... like a world entirely of its own in which anything could be possible. This book held all the charm and beauty of the world portrayed in Cider With Rosie, but was ten times more compelling and addictive. And there were the characters, of course. Lettie Hempstock, an eleven year old who might just have been eleven for a very long time, and her quirky mother and grandmother. Also, the narrator had my sympathy throughout; his seven year old lack of understanding and fear of the adult world that he saw as separate from his own was easily believable, for me. I think we do create a world of our own when we're kids, one that adults aren't a part of, that's how we're able to believe in things like magic and wizards and Santa. To put it plainly, I really enjoyed my first trip into the world of Gaiman. The ending is perfect. A little sad. But mostly perfect.Blog | Leafmarks | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

“I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible.” This is a book that teaches us that we should never stop dreaming, that we should never stop seeing oceans in ponds and that we should never, ever, stop seeing better worlds in the things we read.The pond that was an ocean bespeaks the level of optimism that is inherent with childhood dreams. Everything seems better. Everything seems bigger and grander. Imagination makes the ordinary seem extraordinary and fantastic. I have no idea what elements were fantasy within the novel. It could even be magical realism or a child’s interpretation and exaggeration of real life events. Part of me felt like it was based on real things but distorted and twisted to evoke the sense of unfamiliarity a child has in an adult world. But to perpetually see the world through child eyes would be a boon:“I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”It’s a book for the lost, for the social pariahs who do not fit in with normal society. It is a book for those who would rather spend their days reading than interacting with the human race. Humans are always disappointing, books are not. And our little hero knows this so he concocts his own friends and draws upon the lessons he learnt through reading. In this regard it reminded me of Coraline. It’s a book about an odd child who dreams of something a little bit better than the reality they experience.The friend he meets becomes his guardian against the forces that would destroy him and his family. She becomes a doorway into understanding an entirely new world. In this I saw a lonely child longing for something he didn’t have, a connection with someone who would hold him up when the days become their darkest. In The Ocean at the End of Lane anything is possible as a child’s dreams and memories propel the narrative forward.The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a truly fantastic book in every regard. I absolutely loved it. ___________________________________You can connect with me on social media via My Linktree.__________________________________

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are things people are scared of. Some of them are things that look like things people used to be scared of a long time ago. Sometimes monsters are things people should be scared of, but aren’t. I turned 7 early in third grade. It was a memorable school year because I had for a teacher a nun with a reputation. Sister Evangelista was about 5 foot nuthin’, and symmetrical. If the what’s black and white, black and white, black and white – a nun rolling down a hill joke were applied to her you would have needed a lot more black-and-whites, as her spherical shape would have kept her rolling a long time. It earned her the nickname Cannonball. She was notorious, not only for her distinctive dimensions, but for having a particularly foul temper. Her starched garb also pinched her face into a state of permanent floridity and pursed her lips into a particularly fish-like shape. It was not a happy year for me at school. There would be more than one instance of raised voices, and more than one rap across the hands with yardsticks. I was even banned from the classroom for a spell, to wander the halls for hours, unaccompanied. But I somehow knew that eventually I would be a third grader no longer and would escape the sharpened claws and flapping habit of this creature. She was unpleasant, for sure, but she did not present an existential threat. Neil on a drainpipe as a lad – from his FB page When the unnamed narrator of Neil Gaiman’s book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, turns 7, he has troubles of his own. It begins with zero attendance at his birthday party. The family comes on some hard times and must take in boarders. The boy is given a kitten, Fluffy, to ease the loss of his room, but the pet falls victim to a cab, arriving with a South African opal miner, the latest paying resident. Not long after, the miner takes the family car. It is found soon after, at the end of a nearby lane, with a body in the back seat, and a hose running from the tail pipe to the driver’s window. At the scene, the boy meets an eleven-year-old girl, Lettie Hempstock, who takes charge of him, and brings him to her family’s farm, which borders the lane. And so begins a beautiful friendship. (Members of the extended Hempstock family, btw, turn up in several other Gaiman books) Lettie lives with her mother and grandmother. When strange events begin to erupt in the area--the boy’s sister is assaulted by flung coins, the boy wakes up choking on a coin, and other strangeness afflicts neighbors--Lettie seems to know what is causing them. She is sent to take care of it and brings the boy, her little friend, along. They travel across the Hempstock property and into what seems another world, (mentions of Narnia and Alice in Wonderland, among others, let us know that lines will be crossed) a place that has some threatening inhabitants. Lettie confronts the troublemaker, but the boy reacts to an event instead of thinking and disobeys her lone order, to keep hold of her hand. That is when the real trouble begins.Image taken from abc.net.auThe boy is far too young for this to be a coming of age tale, but a central element of horror, whether of the Freddie Krueger, Nurse Ratched (or Sister Evangelista) variety, or the flapping beast central to Gaiman’s tale, is one’s helplessness before a greater, and ill-intentioned power. Although he doesn’t characterize his intentions as horror-mongering, Gaiman has laid out what he was up to in writing the book.It was meant to be just about looking out at the world through the kind of eyes that I had when I was 7, from the kind of landscape that I lived in when I was 7. And then it just didn't quite stop. I kept writing it, and it wasn't until I got to the end that I realized I'd actually written a novel. ... I thought — it's really not a kids' story — and one of the biggest reasons it's not a kids' story is, I feel that good kids' stories are all about hope. In the case of Ocean at the End of the Lane, it's a book about helplessness. It's a book about family, it's a book about being 7 in a world of people who are bigger than you, and more dangerous, and stepping into territory that you don't entirely understand. Gaiman was aware that his work might appeal to young readers for whom is it not intended. He said that he deliberately made the first few chapters of the book dull as a way to dissuade younger readers, who would be put off by that and disinclined to continue on to the juicy bits. The world the young boy faces may not be understandable. There is just too much to take in and Gaiman captures that element of childhood quite well.Changes for the boy at home include the antithesis of Mary Poppins, in the form of one Ursula Monkton, who seems to have arrived on an ill wind, with the added bonus of her having designs on the boy’s father. Adults overall seem pretty careless. But there is some balance in this universe. Lettie’s family seems beyond time itself, a bright light in the darkness, welcoming, comforting, nurturing. And then there’s the ocean. Looks like a pond to you or me, but it has qualities quite unlike other bodies of water. As in his earlier American Gods, there are things that have been brought to this newer world from the place its residents once occupied. You may not be able to go home again, but what if you could take it with you? (Also a theme in American Gods) Gaiman says he usually writes for himself. One thing that was different about this book was that he was writing for someone else. His wife, musician Amanda Palmer, was off in Australia making an album. Where you or I might send along daily, or weekly notes of what was going on, Gaiman sent something else I will tell my wife, by making stuff up, kind of what it was like to be me when I was seven, from the inside of my head, not in the real world, then put it in the actual landscape that I grew up in. There really had been a boarder who killed himself in the family ride. Like his young hero, Gaiman climbed drainpipes. There really was a farm down the lane that had been recorded in the DomesDay Book.And as with such enterprises he did not have a large framework constructed. It was "like driving at night through the fog" – he knew "three or five pages ahead what would happen", but no further.There is some material here that rankled a bit. The substitute parent trope had been used to good effect in Coraline and manifests in many of the Disney animated classics, evil stepmothers in Cinderella, Snow White and the like. Ditto here. Maybe going to that well one time too many? And is dad really that dim? But there is also a nice diversity of conceptual toys at work. The flapping baddie was fun. The magical ocean and ageless Hemplocks are also very engaging. The nothingness created by the creatures referred to, among other things, as hunger birds, reminded me of Stephen King’s Langoliers, also the Nothing of the Never-Ending Story and the Dark Thing of a Wrinkle in Time. Might the three Hemplocks serve as a sort of feminine Holy Trinity? There is a wormhole that involves an actual…you know…worm, which made me smile for a long time. And any time there is a dip into water, one must ponder things baptismal, rebirth, either literal or spiritual. Letting go is what so much of growing up is about. It is the very thing that must be done in order to be able to grow, to live one’s own life. But sometimes letting go has the opposite effect, and can place you in peril, particularly when you are only 7 and not ready for the consequences. There is a lot in this short book on holding on, and letting go, and the price of both. There is a lot on doing what is right, on personal sacrifice, on permanence and the ephemeral, on remembering and forgetting. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a short novel. But do not let go of the notion that this is a book for adults. The ocean in question may look to be a pond, but do not be deceived. Jump in. The water’s fine, and deep.First posted 8/19/13Published 6/18/13This review is cross-posted at Coot's Reviews. Come say Hi!==============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter, FB and Tumblr pagesA wonderful article on Gaiman in the January 25, 2010 issue of The New Yorker An excellent audio interview by Jian Ghomeshi of Canadian BroadcastingI also reviewed Gaiman's -----Stardust, briefly, a few years back-----The Graveyard Book more fully in October 2012.-----Trigger Warning in March 2015-----The View from the Cheap Seats in June 201612/3/13 - The results are in and The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted the Goodreads Choice Award winner for fantasy12/16/13 - The Ocean... was named one of the best fiction books of 2013 by Kirkus2/25/14 - The Ocean at the End of the Lane is nominated for a Nebula Award

An unnamed man comes back to attend a funeral in his hometown. He stops by his neighbor’s house where he ponders events that happened when he was seven years old. During his youth, he witnesses a tragedy which ignites a series of events, much like the first domino to fall in a set. His neighbor, an eleven-year-old girl, Lettie, promises to keep him safe. Will she be able to keep that promise?This was an enchanting story that reminded me very much of childhood. In the story, Lettie talks about how her pond is the ocean. Do you remember having pure imagination as a child and nothing could talk you out of it? Did you ever wear those friendship bracelets until they fell off? Did you ever believe that if you dug a whole deep enough that you could reach the other side of the world?The unnamed boy at one point tries to tell his father about a bad character. However, his father doesn’t want to hear it and punishes the boy. This reminded me of my childhood where an adult would come into my room, go through my things, and refold my blankets on my already made bed. I let my thoughts be known that I did not want anyone in my room or touching my things. The adults in my life decided to take me to counseling to “fix me.” However, they were in for the shock of their lives when the counselor laid into them stating that I was completely in the right, that their actions were completely inappropriate, that they needed to respect boundaries, and that I deserved a safe place in the world. I never went to counseling again, but the person never went into my room again. Sometimes adults don’t want to hear the truth. They are so focused on being right that they aren’t open to the truth, they miss what is right in front of them, and it crushes the person who was sharing the truth, being so vulnerable.The Ocean At The End of the Lane also had a certain charm to it. Lettie promises the boy, “I’ll make sure you are safe. I promise. I’m not scared.” That is a really big promise especially in this age where people don’t even want to commit to attending a half-hour Zoom call. This unwavering commitment to the boy’s safety reminded me of Jay Gatsby, one of my favorite characters.Overall, this book was breathtaking and a remarkable journey. Another word, if I might…….When reading this book, I used a technique called immersion reading. Immersion reading is where you listen to the audiobook while you are following along in a copy of the text (either a physical printed copy or a digital version of the text). Whenever possible, I practice immersion reading for a variety of reasons. However, it is expensive as it involves getting the book twice: one as an audiobook and twice as the text. While Audible has the most extensive library, it is extremely expensive. After some help from my friends on the internet, I was introduced to Scribd which is $84.99 per year (or $8.99 per month), and it offers unlimited books (text) and audiobooks. Through Scribd, I procured a copy of the text and listened to the audiobook. The author, Neil Gaiman, narrated the audiobook. His voice has almost a magical quality to it, and it was such a treat just listening to him read the book. What is better than reading a book? Reading a free book (or almost free book).2022 Reading ScheduleJan Animal FarmFeb Lord of the FliesMar The Da Vinci CodeApr Of Mice and MenMay Memoirs of a GeishaJun Little WomenJul The Lovely BonesAug Charlotte's WebSep Life of PiOct DraculaNov Gone with the WindDec The Secret GardenConnect With Me!Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta

"I remember my own childhood vividly...I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn’t let adults know I knew. It would scare them." -Maurice SendakConsidering how obsessed we are with the idea of childhood as a culture, it’s pretty wild that no one can capture it quite like Neil Gaiman.https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...There are a lot of movies about boring white-straight-male aspiring writers in their 30s being taught how to LIVE WHIMSICALLY by a manic pixie dream girl. There are books about the beautiful wonder of a child’s perspective. There are millions and millions and millions of TV shows depicting the dramatic trials and tribulations of the high school experience (as lived by gorgeous twenty-three year olds).But none of it feels true. Maybe only Neil Gaiman can remember what it’s like to be a child.It is wondrous, and beautiful, and whimsical, and even dramatic. But it’s also dark and scary sometimes. Inexplicable things happen, and the world seems uncontrollable, which is magical and horrifying. That’s childhood.That’s also this book.The Ocean at the End of the Lane is actually terrifying. It’s magical, but probably not in the way typically associated with fantasy novels narrated by children. It’s magical in the way that I felt the world was when I was a child. As it turns out, that’s much more magical. And much more amazing to read about.This book is so, so short, and so devastatingly lovely. It’s beautifully written and emotional. It made me scared and it made my heart hurt and it made me smile. I want to quote more of it, but really I want to quote everything. Maybe I’ll just excerpt ever-longer passages until I trick you into reading it?So, better idea, just read it yourself.Bottom line: It’s 181 pages. What would it hurt to read it read it read it read it read it?-------------------------pre-reviewthings this book has in common with the graveyard book:a) by neil gaimanb) first 5 star rating of the yearc) totally f*cking radreview to come b

5/5 ⭐ "Can't drink the water from the sea, can you? Too salty. Like drinking life's blood." Wow.I don't even know what could I say more about this book than wow.I have very little experience with Gaiman's books - I only read Coraline but loved it all the same. There was a certain cosiness to the story. Even though some really terrifying, nightmarish creatures were lurking around throughout the pages of the book, the general feeling I got from the whole story was exactly the same feeling a fluffy blanket and a steaming cup of tea give you. I do believe that this was all because of the amazing narrative voice. It is obvious that Gaiman is a natural storyteller. "I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories. I liked that. Books were safer than other people anyway." I loved the careful importance the writer gave to the books and the action of reading. The main character is a little lonely boy who loves his books and loves knowledge. Sad, if you think about it, but beautiful in its own way.The fascination for mythology and folklore is craftily exposed here - some aspects are educational, some are hidden and only at some point visible through the whole turmoil of words and thoughts.Look for small hints, it says.Sometimes, things get deeper, like the ocean. The beautiful manner of speech presented in this book hides some philosophical ideas behind it, some as old as time that leave you thinking a bit on them. Sometimes, it feels like an introspection. "If I looked inward I would see only infinite mirrors, staring into myself for eternity." The title itself blends perfectly with the theme of the story and with the hidden, philosophical metaphors. There was an ocean at the end of the lane, disguised in a simple, mundane pond. But that water held the secrets of the world between its shores. That water held all the pain in the world and no pain at all. It held everything. And it was an ocean only in the eye of the beholder. I honestly believe that was such an artistically pleasing, cosy and warm story to read. I loved every page of it!(Book-styled)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil GaimanThe Ocean at the End of the Lane is a 2013 novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The work follows an unnamed man who returns to his hometown for a funeral and remembers events that began forty years earlier.At the age of 7, the unnamed boy is facing many crises, not the least of which is his parents have let out his room to lodgers in order to raise extra money. When one lodger commits suicide in the family car, the boy’s life changes in subtle and strange ways. He meets a family up the road from his home who may or may not be witches. He coughs up a coin, discovers a duck pond that may be an ocean, and encounters a giant tent-like creature that is dangerous and very ancient. Throughout the boy’s adventure, his family is completely unaware of the threats around them, forcing the boy to be resourceful and independent of adult help.The narrator is conscious of the fact he is reminiscing about times long past, and so the reader is kept one step away from directly experiencing the action of the story.تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز یازدهم سپتامبر سال 2015میلادیعنوان: اقیانوس انتهای جاده؛ نویسنده: نیل گیمن؛ مترجم: فرزاد فرید؛ ویراستار لیلا اوصالی؛ تهران، انتشارات پریان، 1393، در 260ص، شابک 9786007058046؛ موضوع: داستانهای کودکان از نویسندگان بریتانیا- سده 21مداستان پسری که تنها دوست واقعی او کتابهایش بودند...؛ مردی میانسال، برای شرکت در مراسم یادبودی، به محله‌ ی دوران کودکی‌ خویشتن باز می‌گردد؛ خانه‌ شان از بین رفته است، اما او ناخودآگاه به مزرعه‌ ای که در انتهای جاده قرار دارد، کشانده می‌شود، جایی‌که در هفت‌ سالگی، با دخترکی فراموش‌ نشدنی، به نام «لتی همپستاک»، مادر، و مادر بزرگش آشنا شده بود؛ او که ده‌ ها سال است دخترک را از یاد برده، حالا با نشستن در کنار برکه‌ ای که «لتی» آن را اقیانوس می‌نامید، گذشته‌ های دور را به یاد می‌آورد، گذشته‌ ای که می‌توانست برای هر کس بسیار خطرناک و هولناک باشد، چه برسد به پسر بچه‌ ای هفت‌ ساله...؛نقل نمونه از متن: (لتی مرا به بیشه ‌ای از درخت‌های فندق در جادهٔ قدیمی برد (فندق‌های دُم‌گربه ‌ای در بهار شاخه‌ های سنگینی دارند) و شاخهٔ کوچکی را کند؛ بعد با چاقویش پوست شاخه را کند، طوری که انگار ده‌هزار بار این‌کار را کرده بود، دوباره آن را برید تا شبیه حرف وای شد؛ بعد چاقو را کنار گذاشت (نمی‌دانم کجا گذاشتش) و دو سر وای را در دو دستش گرفتبه من گفت: «نمی‌خوام طلا پیدا کنم، فقط ازش به‌ عنوان راهنما استفاده می‌کنم؛ به‌نظرم اول باید دنبال یه ...؛ مگسِ‌ گوشت بگردیم؛ یا چیزی آبی‌ ارغوانی و براق»؛به اطراف نگاه کردم؛ «من که همچین چیزی نمی‌بینم»؛گفت:‌ «می‌آد»؛در میان علف‌ها که می‌رفتیم، خیره به اطراف نگاه کردم، مرغی سرخ ‌و قهوه‌ ای داشت کنار جاده، دان می‌خورد، تعدادی ماشین‌آلات زنگ‌زدهٔ کشاورزی، میز پایه‌ خرک چوبی در کنار جاده، و شش دبه ی خالی شیر که روی آن قرار داشت؛ خانه ی روستایی آجرقرمز «همپستاک» را دیدم، که مثل حیوانی در حال ‌استراحت کز کرده، و آرام بود؛ گل‌های بهاری را دیدم؛ گل‌های مینای زرد و سفید، که همه‌ جا را پر کرده بودند، قاصدک‌های طلایی و آلاله، و گل ‌استکانی تنهایی که دیگر فصلش گذشته بود، در سایه‌ های زیر میز پایه‌ خرک که شبنمِ روی آن هنوز داشت می‌درخشید....؛پرسیدم: «اونه؟»؛لتی با تایید گفت: «چشمای تیزبینی داری.»؛به ‌سمت گل‌ استکانی رفتیم؛ وقتی به آن رسیدیم لتی چشم‌هایش را بست؛ بدنش را جلو و عقب می‌برد، عصای چوب ‌فندق را جلو گرفته بود، انگار بدنش نقطهٔ مرکزی ساعت یا قطب‌نما بود، عصا مثل عقربه ‌ای به سمت نیمه ‌شب یا شرقی متمایل بود، که نمی‌توانستم ببینمش؛ ناگهان گفت: «سیاه و نرم»؛انگار داشت چیزی را از دل خواب توصیف می‌کرداز گل ‌استکانی دور شدیم، و در جاده ‌ای که تصور می‌کردم، راهی شدیم، جاده‌ ای که شاید زمانی جادهٔ رومی‌ها بود.؛ صد قدم در جاده رفته بودیم، نزدیک همان‌ جایی ‌که ماشین مینی متوقف شده بود، که آن را پیدا کرد: تکه ‌ای پارچهٔ سیاه که در سیم‌ خاردار گیر کرده بودلتی به آن نزدیک شد؛ دوباره با عصای چوب ‌فندق که جلو گرفته بود، و دوباره با چرخش‌های آرام.؛ بعد با قطعیت گفت: «قرمز؛ خیلی قرمز؛ از اون طرف»؛با هم به سویی که اشاره کرده بود رفتیم.؛ در آن‌سوی علفزار، به میان ردیفی از درختان رفتیم؛ من که مجذوب شده بودم، گفتم: «اون‌جا» جسد حیوان بسیار کوچکی ـ ظاهراً موش‌آبی ـ روی خزه ‌های سبز افتاده بود؛ سر نداشت، و خون تازه موی او و سطح خزه را لک کرده بود، خیلی سرخ بودلتی گفت: «حالا، از این‌جا به بعد دست من رو بگیر؛ ول نکن» و ...)؛ پایان نقلتاریخ بهنگام رسانی 14/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/07/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Everything you need to know about "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" is right there in the title! The Ocean it alludes to is deep (fathom-deep as the true meanings of family & love & death); blue (icy like the Coraline's motherspider antagonist-- the demonic Nanny McPhee in the middle of the story; cold like the rigidity of death, the panic of succumbing to childhood traumas); vast (like the leitmotifs spread out in elegant splendor along the narrative, tokens of the writer's impressive & grand imagination), with suds atop (the frivolity and juxtaposition of childhood elements with the supernatural positively effervesce) but much darker & stranger as the composites of the undertow sometimes reach upward, showing us the complex nature of human souls. It's a true achievement.

Can a pond being an ocean? Sure! Why not? DON'T THINK IN LIMITATIONS BUT POSIBILITIES Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. Once you can get to accept that a pond likely can be a whole ocean, you will then enjoy this wonderful book.I think that Neil Gaiman, the author, was a genius even deciding the length of the book.Sure, the initial intention was to make a short story that ended inton being a novel, but at 181 pages of length, it's most likely a novella.However, that's the beauty of the concept. Can a book being a library? Mmh...Since, in these 181 pages, you have a fairy tale, a horror story, a family drama, even adventure, humor, philosophy, etc... A THICK BOOK ISN'T GUARANTEE OF ANYTHING GOOD A story only matters, I suspect, to the extent that the people in the story change. Neil Gaiman can accomplish so much more in just 181 pages than other authors in 700 plus pages.A big book isn't a guarantee of being any good.A short book can be as much fantastic, if not more.Even it's more respectful being able to create a so rich story in so few pages than having 700 plus pages and not resolving anything.Sometimes people can think that only thick books deserve respect and don't get me wrong, there are many thick books indeed worthy of respect, but the quantity of written pages isn't a certification that any book is indeed really good.And certainly there are also bad small books too.But I can tell you that......this is a small book AND it's reallly good! LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING Nobody actually looks like what they really are on the inside. This is a story where I can assure you that I was so scared at some moments than in other books clearly labeled as horror, and I was so astounded with the magic here than in other books clearly labeled as fantasy. Even if you know some of Neil Gaiman's influences when he was a kid, you will be glad to see them here in a way or other.Even if you read really carefully you will get to know about where certain other writers got some ideas for their own insanely famous books, letting clear that sometimes author's originality is just a matter of reader's ignorance.Highly recommended!