• The Ocean at the End of the Lane

  • A Novel
  • By: Neil Gaiman
  • Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
  • Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (24,550 ratings)

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane  By  cover art

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Narration by the Author or Authors, 2014

Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, 2014

Sussex, England: A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. 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. He hasn't thought of Lettie in decades, and yet sitting by the pond (a pond that she'd claimed was an ocean), the unremembered past comes flooding back. Forty years earlier, a man committed suicide in a stolen car at this farm at the end of the road. Like a fuse on a firework, his death lit a touchpaper and resonated in unimaginable ways. The darkness was unleashed, something scary and thoroughly incomprehensible to a little boy. And Lettie - magical, comforting, wise beyond her years - promised to protect him, no matter what.

A groundbreaking work from a master, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out. A stirring, terrifying, and elegiac fable as delicate as a butterfly's wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark.

©2013 Neil Gaiman (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Featured Article: 35+ Quotes About Books That Truly Speak to Bibliophiles


Novels, memoirs, short stories, essay compilations, and more continue to shape who we are and how we view the world, no matter what format—physical book, ebook, or audiobook—we use to absorb and enjoy them. Books are pathways into different worlds and different lives, and one can never be truly bored with a good book. Celebrate your literary love with these quotes about books that will inspire you to dive into your next story.

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What listeners say about The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15,540
  • 4 Stars
    5,880
  • 3 Stars
    2,187
  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    13,805
  • 4 Stars
    5,280
  • 3 Stars
    2,225
  • 2 Stars
    567
  • 1 Stars
    420

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another masterful tale by Gaiman!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Ocean at the End of the Lane to be better than the print version?

I think when an author like Neil Gaiman is also a brilliant narrator, it definitely adds to the story to listen to it being told.

What about Neil Gaiman’s performance did you like?

Gaiman has a wonderful reading voice, and is a brilliant story-teller. You can feel assured that when he narrates his own story, you are hearing it in exactly the way it is intended.

Any additional comments?

This story is engaging and unique. It easily takes the listener into the world of the characters and provides for an entertaining experience.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

there should be room for more than 5 stars

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

I did not want it to end and i want to know if the ocean ever heals the girl

Who was your favorite character and why?

the main character. He was believable as a 7 yr old boy

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

no

If you could rename The Ocean at the End of the Lane, what would you call it?

No I would leave it as it is as you get it at the end

Any additional comments?

this is fabulous fantasy with meanderings of truth. Excellent book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantasy meats reality at the end of the lane

There was a really great line in this book where the children opined what if adults are really just scared children disguised in grown up bodies. (Paraphrased) It was an adult remembering something that had happened in his childhood the way be remembered it as a child. It really brings you back to the way you looked at things as a child. When , in retrospect, the way you understood the events was not reality. I feel like it is a great story that makes you long for the freedom you had as a child but at the same time remember how you were controlled by your dependence on other people, like your parents. Anyway, this story was kind of an adult look back at Nanny McPhee meets Coraline. It was fabulous and certainly worth the credit. Final note about Neil Gaiman narrating it hisself. I personally enjoyed the narration. However, I can see where people would be disappointed. I mean Neil Gaiman has paired a lot of perfect narrators with authors. So maybe there was a better narrator out there.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gaiman's got it

What made the experience of listening to The Ocean at the End of the Lane the most enjoyable?

I love when the author reads their own books. Especially with his british accent!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The girl that he meets at the end of the lane. Or maybe his sister

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

Yes, this was good but not my favorite book

If you could rename The Ocean at the End of the Lane, what would you call it?

The name is perfect for the story

Any additional comments?

I was hoping for more "adult" themes in the book. Gaiman does not typically write adult themed books and there is a section of risque but not to sound smutty but I would like to see him, with his wild, wonderful imagination brooch upon more adult themes. They do not have to be risque but I thought it might be more intellectual or so. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful listen and left me smiling and enjoying that I still have the place for imagination.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gaiman Does It Again!

The Graveyard Book-hooked me, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane has reeled me in. It is a book that you should bring with on a camping trip and don't forget the portable speaker so Gaiman can do his magic around the campfire--you will become 7 years old again, and your world transforms. It tugs at you to recall your perspective of adults at that age, the belief in magical beings, and ponds that become oceans. It is a tale you will treasure over and over again.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Just Meh... Yawn

What didn’t you like about Neil Gaiman’s performance?

This performance had no energy. Neil, unfortunately to me, was very monotone. He read it lazily with no voices, no inflections and no enthusiasm.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was very disappointed in this book after reading the rave reviews. I'm still wondering how I missed its magic.

Any additional comments?

I might have enjoyed the book a bit more had I read the print version. I feel like I read with much more energy and imagination. Yawn.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lyrical

What did you love best about The Ocean at the End of the Lane?

The story is compelling and haunting. All childhood fears are there, once that were forgotten and should not have been remembered.

What does Neil Gaiman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Usually, I am wary to listen to a novel read by the author himself, but this was a lyrical experience. Gaiman not only writes excellently, he also has a good sense of timing and drama when he narrates.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

don't hesitate, listen

A wonderful fairy tale, full of adventures and a drop of regret, we all have oceans within us. I won't go into the story, but Gaiman has created a world I was sorry to have to leave at the end of the book; and isn't that why we read, anyway?

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Good story goes bad

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who like fantasy and who can put up with time travel and such nonsense. People who liked "The Time Traveler's Wife" would like it.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was the same as the author and it seemed prideful of him to do his own narration. An outside narrator could have found more nuance in the reading.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Ocean at the End of the Lane?

The part in which we hear that the protagonist has already returned to the house several times. Huh? Also, the lady in the sky coming to take him. Also, the circle, etc. Silly.

Any additional comments?

I couldn't distinguish among the grandmother, mother, and daughter. The author not only wrote the book and narrated it, but then told us how so many of his friends made suggestions. I wish they had suggested a coherent story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Narration by the Author is the best!

So happy that Neil Gaiman decided to narrate this novel himself. His creepy tone emphasized just the right parts that you know he was thinking when he wrote it. The story keeps you intrigued and I really liked the ending. At under six hours, it's a super easy "read", but one that keeps you thinking about it long after you are done listening.

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