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The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
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About this listen

The celebrated modern classic from the number one best-selling writer.

THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 'BOOK OF THE YEAR'

AN ACCLAIMED WEST END THEATRE PRODUCTION

This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane:

A dead man on the back seat of the car and warm milk at the farmhouse.

An ancient little girl and an old woman who saw the moon being made.

A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile.

And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed.

They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edges of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved....

NEIL GAIMAN.

WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

©2013 Neil Gaiman (P)2013 Headline Digital Fantasy Fiction Heartfelt Mind-bending Scary

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Critic reviews

"Neil Gaiman's entire body of work is a feat of elegant sorcery. He writes with such assurance and originality that the reader has no choice but to surrender to a waking dream," (Armistead Maupin)

"Some books just swallow you up, heart and soul." (Joanne Harris)

"Summons both the powerlessness and wonder of childhood, and the complicated landscape of memory and forgetting." (Guardian)

All stars
Most relevant  
Having gone from a very predictable romance to this was a shock. it had me entranced but it was at point so utterly weird I couldn't follow it. I don't know if it was sad or happy. I liked most of the cat bits. The rest I'm still digesting.

Well there you are, weird, very weird.

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A beautifully written story which takes you into the fairytale imagination of a small child with both dark and light periods.

Fairytale fantasy

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I really loved listening to this book, Neil has such a lovely way of telling his stories. The book is pretty dark but also spellbinding and interesting. Would definitely recommend

Spellbinding

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If you could sum up The Ocean at the End of the Lane in three words, what would they be?

Powerful, moving, remarkable

Who was your favorite character and why?

the unnamed narrator. I identify with him, and, strangely, have had some similar experiences.

Have you listened to any of Neil Gaiman’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have listened to An Evening with Neil and Amanda, his speech to art graduates and I am currently listening to American Gods. If they gave Oscars for voice acting on Audio-books Neil's performance on The Ocean at the end of the Lane, would be the winner!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the narrator realizes that all three women are one and the same.

Any additional comments?

This is easily one of the best books I have read in my 53 years. Magical, poignant and profound. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Possibly my favourite book ever!

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Dark & troubling but beautiful & reassuring at the same time. Reaches deep into life and existence and evil and innocence in a remarkable and profound story of childhood discovery. Loved it and will revisit!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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Sublime in its personal view of extraordinary events beautifully written excellent narration and wonderful imagination

Neil Gaiman at his best

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I just adore Mr Gamains storytelling... A nice little fantasy story with great characters... A nice book to fit inbetween some of the mammoth books I have been listening to recently :)

A great short story

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Neil Hainan is an absolutely wonderful narrator. Settle yourself into a comfortable chair across the fireplace from Neil. He will construct and deconstruct reality before your eyes. His voice and his words weave a spell that will bind you until the last word. And when the spell breaks you will feel the loss of the world and the characters called forth by the spell. But they do not go cleanly, fragments lodge in your heart making your heart ache to see them once more and calling you back to that world.

Absolutely brilliant

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This was my first Gaiman book , didn't know what I expected, this was wonderful

woderful

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After having just listened to a 40 hour epic and feeling slightly bereft, this was the perfect follow up. Narrated brilliantly by the author, (I look forward to listening to more), the story was, whilst short, quite wonderful.

Short and perfect

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