SKB’s Looking Forward To:

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Review from The Star Tribune:

In Neil Gaiman’s first adult novel in eight years, a man revisits his childhood home, and the past comes flooding back.

If you like Neil Gaiman’s books, chances are you enjoy his voice as much as anything he might choose to say with it. Whether he describes forgotten gods down on their luck or a transcendentally brilliant plan to swap a dad for goldfish, the voice remains a familiar and kindly sort of trickster, smiling its affectionate smile, intending to lead you down to a very dark place and abandon you there. If you know that already and keep coming back, then you’ll want to know this more than anything else: Will you recognize Gaiman’s voice in “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”? Will it comfort you even as the story strips away all possible comfort?

Yes. This is his voice, and it might be more clearly articulated here than in any other book.

If you take a step back from the plot and squint a bit, the novel is about children who cross boundaries between worlds and confront monsters, grownups and blends between the two; familiar ground for Gaiman, but structural similarities to “Coraline” or “Mirrormask” are the least important thing you need to know.

Move closer and you’ll notice folkloric grace notes: An unnamed narrator learns the importance of naming, familiar nursery rhymes are reconsidered and made mythic. Magic comes slowly into the story, and it arrives as easily as breathing. When a perfectly sensible character says that she remembers when the moon was made, you will believe her. You won’t actually have a choice.

This is important, but not unexpected. We’re in a Gaiman story. The rules are familiar and easy enough to intuit. But look closer. Take one more step.

“The Ocean at the End of the Lane” is heralded as Gaiman’s first novel for adults in eight years. It isn’t. Not exactly. It is narrated by an adult, and it is addressed to adult readers, but the book is actually for the children those adults used to be. This is what makes it remarkable. The narrator’s 7-year-old self is far more vulnerable and dependent than the adventurous kid protagonists we usually see, and experiencing his childhood adventure from an adult perspective is wrenchingly, gorgeously elegiac.

Think about eulogies for a moment. They’re impossible things, meant to recapture something while simultaneously acknowledging the irrevocable loss of that same thing. Eulogies try to bring somebody back so we can remember them properly, even while communicating the fact that they aren’t ever coming back. Gaiman accomplishes this in “The Ocean at the End of the Lane”; he summons up childhood magic and adventure while acknowledging their irrevocable loss, and he stitches the elegiac contradictions together so tightly that you won’t see the seams.

William Alexander won the National Book Award for his debut novel, “Goblin Secrets,” and the Earphones Award for his narration of the audiobook. He lives in Minneapolis.

What are you reading?

I love to read. And much like the picture, my house is full of books – books that have been read, and books that have not been. Because my attention can stray, I don’t read just one book at a time. I have, at least, three books going at the same time on a regular basis. Now, some might find this confusing, but this is the only way that I know how to read. The positive is that I get through quite a few books; the down side is that sometimes I confuse characters, conflicts, and even settings (especially during the school year).

Now that I am officially on Summer Vacation, I have my regular three books going. So far, I’ve managed to keep the stories straight (fingers crossed this continues to happen).

So, at the moment, I am reading these three novels:

 

 

 

 

 

My question to you is … How many books do you read at a time? What are you reading at the moment?

Review: The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Summary (from Goodreads):

When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. At thirteen, he led a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king…
It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him–and he has nothing left to lose. But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?

Review:

This book (and the series) was recommended by Terry Brooks on Goodreads. Since my favourite genre is fantasy, and am a fan of Mr. Brooks, I thought I’d give this one a try.

I have to say Prince Jorg is the least likeable protagonist I’ve come across! He’s rude, cruel, violent, dangerous, abusive … and at only age fifteen! The story is also one of the bloodiest and violent fantasy novels I’ve read, where villages are pillaged, burned, and their people killed for no reason except that some can (Jorg is not responsible all the death and devastation in the novel). Having said this, the story grew on me, and by the end, I found myself cheering for this anti-hero Prince Jorg.

Lawrence’s decision to make his hero so unlikable is interesting and rare, and that’s what made finish this book and begin the second. It’s unusual, and I have always liked the unusual.

This series (book two is already in print, but book three is yet to be released) is not for the faint of heart. You have been warned. If anyone does read it, I would love to hear your thoughts it.

Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (YA)

Summary (from Goodreads):

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow.

This improbable story of Christopher’s quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

Review:

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that I go through periods of focusing on young adult fiction. Well, this was one of those moments.

To be honest, I tried reading this a few years ago, but couldn’t ‘get into it’ for whatever reason. However, picking it up now, the story itself, Christopher (the protagonist), learning about his disability, his family life, and his unique method of investigating the death of his neighbour’s dog, had me interested from almost the beginning (it takes me a while to become truly interested in a story).

The characters are believable because they are flawed, and this is what kept me reading. I wanted to learn more Christopher’s family (mother dies of cancer, and the father – a mechanic – is raising Christopher alone), his neighbours, who are colourful and not unlike some of my own, and his teachers that both inspire and try to hold Christopher back. It is the human relationships, complicated and messy, that drives the story. The story takes quite a twist about halfway through, that affects both Christopher’s investigation and his family life – sort of saw it coming, but it did nothing to lessen the surprise.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel and recommended it.