2025 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

Pages: 181 pages

Length: 1 Month (September)

Participants: Ruthie, Lauren, Laura, Janice, Marleen, Luisa

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

Looking forward to reading this! I’ve read several Gaiman books and loved them all, so I hope this short one will be great too.

Is there still room for another? I was literally about to start the book today before I saw it listed in the buddy reads haha. I’ve heard good things. I’m excited.

Of course! The more the merrier. I’m starting the book today.

Marleen wrote: "Looking forward to reading this! I’ve read several Gaiman books and loved them all, so I hope this short one will be great too."

Hi! I'm looking forward too! I've never read any Neil Gaiman books, so this one it's my first. i have really high expectations, everyone I know loves Mr. Gaiman :)

I started it today! Really like it so far. Neil Gaiman has such an incredible imagination. Hope you like it Luisa!

I’ve read up to and including chapter 3 so far. Very intriguing and a fast read so far. I like all the mysteries: (view spoiler)[the Hempstock women who seem able to tell the past and future, the coins that show up out of nowhere (hide spoiler)], very curious to see where it all goes from here. And I like how the narrator glimpses ahead every now and then, for example (view spoiler)[with the description of the opal miner, giving us a sneak peek that there was gonna be a notable Last Time that he’d see the man. (hide spoiler)]

I'm 73% done and I'm loving.
It's easy and fast pacing and easily acceptable not receive all answers and explanations about the three women right away.
I'm really enjoying this reading.

I finished last night. It's hard to know what to say haha, not because of spoilers, but because it made me think a lot and I'm not sure how I feel about it I guess. I certainly liked and enjoyed it, but it's more complicated than that. I have the feeling this is one of those ones that's gonna take some time for me to come to a conclusion on.

I agree Garrett, I just finished and not fully sure yet either, but I really enjoyed it. 4,5 stars for me, rounded down to 4 on Goodreads for now, but that might change with the inevitable future reread.

My non-spoiler mini-review I just posted:
First of all, I love Neil Gaiman’s writing. His storytelling and use of language very much appeal to me and there were so many sentences in this book that were just such a pleasure to read.
This book was great but different. Not sure what I was expecting because I went in blind, not even reading the blurb on the back (I’m glad I didn’t, for such a short book it would have spoiled way too much). I really enjoyed reading it, felt allll the emotions from horrified to delighted, and I mostly loved reading about the Hempstocks.
The book is pretty short, and many things are left vague or unexplained. I’m not yet sure how I feel about that actually. Right now I wish it was longer, but this will have to be a reread in the future to see how I feel then. 4 or 5 stars, let’s say 4,5 for now.

I finished and I agree with Marleen and Garret: it's difficult say anything...
I enjoyed it and felt so nstalgic and I'm still processing in my mind.
I gave 5 stars. I was between 4 and 5, and decided to give 5, for the warm and creepy feelings it gave me. :)

I'm glad i read this, it was my first Neil Gaiman book and i'm very pleased.

I'm excited to read it because of y'alls comments. I should have it in a few days from my library app

I started it today and I'm already 54% into it. Really enjoying it!

Anybody else have thoughts? Having had more time for it to sink in, I’m really impressed by Gaiman’s ability to use imaginative metaphor and magical realism to communicate the pain of childhood trauma in a way that’s emotionally visceral and understandable to a reader. It’s like you can feel that real world emotional reaction through his otherworldly prose. I really love that.

I thought it was wonderfully weird!

I agree with your thoughts also Garrett!