The Ocean At The End Of The Lane

On Wednesday I picked up a new book from the library despite telling myself I wanted no new books for a while. But I just had to read The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. I've like Neil Gaiman for a few years now. Sandman is epic and American Gods was a brilliant read. But it was reading Amanda Palmer's blog about the book which made me really want to get it.

I am so glad I did.

I will try my best to talk about it without spoilers. It should be easy to do. You see, what is good about the book is not the story. It's the feeling I was left with afterwards. I felt sad and a little bit lost. I felt like the teenager I was an still am in many ways. This book left me remembering every time I had felt lonely or scared. Every time I had felt small in the face of the universe. Every time I had felt that I knew nothing and everything at the same time.

When I finished the book I cuddled up to my husband and laid my head on his chest just so I could hear his heartbeat. I needed to be grounded. I needed to be pulled back into my present and away from my past. Because, for me, that is what this book is about. The past. Our individual pasts. It doesn't matter who the book is about or what happens to them. This book could be about each and every one of us and how we felt as a child, as a teenager and even as an adult. It's about when we felt small.

There is so much more to say about this book but I don't have the language to do it. There are not words enough to describe it's beauty. You should go read it for yourselves. Now.

I'll be here with a hug when you're done.