JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Sussex, England. A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy.

I wish that I didn’t know this was written by Neil Gaiman until after I’d read it, because I think I made excuses for the storyline based on the fact that the author is NEIL GAIMAN. But in all honesty, what the hell happened in this book? There was fantasy mixed in with reality and it was all a little confusing, and it was hard to work out what was real and what wasn’t.

Okay, let’s start with the positives. The writing is beautiful. Neil Gaiman can write beautiful, lyrical prose and realistic dialogue. He can construct great characters and he can build upon them with fantastic imagery and description, and the relationships between the main characters seemed authentic and engaging and uniquely brilliant.

But unfortunately, the characters and the quality of the writing were overshadowed by the almost forced (and sometimes unnatural) insertion of fantastical elements into this realistic setting. It detracted from the story, and it stopped me from really appreciating the meaning of the story and the meaning behind the storyline. The fantasy elements stopped me from paying attention to the character relations and the development of the story. I simply read along to find out what happened, but I was no longer as invested in the characters or the story as I was before.

People who love Neil Gaiman will love this book because it’s Neil Gaiman. People who haven’t read Neil Gaiman might be a bit disappointed with the book. If you’re planning on reading this book, then I’ll give you one piece of advice: read it with an open mind.

My Score: 6/10

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell – weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents. Lavishly produced, packed with glorious Chris Riddell illustrations enhanced with metallic ink, this is a spectacular and magical gift.

This children’s book is a fairytale retelling of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty but with subtly and elegant literary integration. I should start by addressing the STUNNING JACKET. It’s hardcover and the see-through dust jacket allows the reader to see the illustrated sleeping beauty underneath the cover flap (on the hardcover). I also think that in this case, the illustrations actually trump the story/writing. All of the illustrations are in black and gold, which gives the book a really elegant look. And the book feels like one of those stories you read as a child that was your favourite and you kept the book for years because it felt so special.

The layout is beautiful. Some pages have full-page illustrations, but others have a picture strip down the side and a fairly big block of text. It helps break up the book so the reader doesn’t feel bogged down by the fairly small font size. On most pages, a certain sentence (usually the final sentence on the page) is repeated as an illustration in gold letters, and it is really striking against the black and white sketches/drawings next to it. The re-telling of these two fairytales is unique and there’s a slight twist at the end with sleeping beauty and the old lady. There’s no stereotypical ‘Prince Charming’ in this book, which is a nice change. Instead, there’s a Queen who is determined to wake Sleeping Beauty and save the sleeping city. The book is a quick read, and fans of Neil Gaiman will love this tale. This would make a lovely gift for someone because of its unique, pretty packaging.

My Score: 9/10

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