The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.

I know you hipster/goths love Tim Burton, and he is probably king of the macabre childrens story, but I have always loved Neil Gaiman more. For starters, he's an incredible writer, but what makes Gaiman truly transcendent is his accurate grasp on what it means to be a child. Gaiman knows how kids think, and he takes childhood adventure and wraps it in a disturbing setting. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is the best Gaiman book I have ever read, and when you look at books like Sandman, American Gods, Neverwhere, Coraline, and Signal to Noise, that's certainly saying something.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about a middle aged man returning to his childhood home in rural England to attend a funeral. While he is there, he journeys to the end of the lane to see the house where a little girl lived, a friend of his. Suddenly the memories he didn't know he had forgotten come rushing back, and all of the magic and terror of his relationship with her are remembered. 

Like all Gaiman books, it is filled with whimsy, Harry Potter esque childhood novelty and superb British humor. Also, like all Gaiman books, it gets dark. Very dark. That's what separates Neil's novels, they are children's stories, and they are scary. The Ocean at the End of the Lane scared the shit out of me, and not in a jump, "OH MY GOD DONT LOOK IN THE CLOSET!!!"" sorta way, but he scared me in a deeper, more intimate way. Gaiman makes you regret being an adult. He makes you yearn for the adventure of childhood. What fear he instills on you is death, and one you can't escape, because you're old. This book is absolutely amazing, and just dripping with all the things that makes Neil Gaiman such a great author.

If you do end up purchasing it, look for how he portrays women. One of the reasons I like Gaiman so much are the women he creates in all of his stories. The women in this book, (3 in particular), are so loving and happy, that you'll immediately be unimpressed with your own parents, as amazing as I'm sure they are.