The Ocean at the End of the Lane

A Novel

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins

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

My first Gaiman, and I’ll be back for more

Such a curious, wonderful, simple and yet deep and beautiful story. Gaiman reading his own work is a dream. I will probably listen to this recording again. I hope I will anyway. Highly recommend to lovers of a good yarn.

Loved it

I love the story, the mysteries and how much was left unknown. But most of all, I loved the ending. What a déjà vu feeling!

my fave author

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

i love the way neil gaiman reads his stories. i wish all authors would read their own stories. they emphasize all the right things and make the characters sound the way they did in their minds as they wrote. it all sounds and feels so right.

Which character – as performed by Neil Gaiman – was your favorite?

hmmmmm.......i'm such a fan, that's a tough question

If you could take any character from The Ocean at the End of the Lane out to dinner, who would it be and why?

lettie, of course, i want to know her story

Any additional comments?

keep reading neil

Fantastic

It's always lovely to hear an author narrate their own book. You can hear what all the characters are supposed to sound like. What a great book. Beautiful, descriptive fantasy at it's finest.

Superb

There is nothing better than a Gaiman story read by Gaiman himself. The story is the typical Gaiman with twists that you would never imagine and fantastical elements that seem quite believable in the world he creates. The reading of the story greatly enhances the already wonderful tale. I am a big Gaiman fan and this made me more of one.

Magic, melancholy, inventive story.

Would you listen to The Ocean at the End of the Lane again? Why?

Already listened to it twice. Loved the aura of the story

What did you like best about this story?

Unique

Which scene was your favorite?

Meeting the women in the farm kitchen.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Where imagination and reality meet, heroes come in unexpected guises.

Any additional comments?

Modern adult fairytale.

I did not want it to end

Neil was a fabulous narrator. I loved the Graveyard and this has the same feel, a creepy premise. In fact, now I want to listen to the Graveyard again.

Peter Pan story - really enjoyed it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great voice - really enjoyed listening to the author, kwew he would put the right stress on things, but had no idea his voice was so english and dramatic! Loved it!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved the commonsense of the the characters - like Harry Potter books they are everyday in a magic world

Extremely Enjoyable

Narrator/Author was perfect. The voices were very well done. The imagery was awesome. I would recommend to anyone.

A really good choice for a summer read

Where does The Ocean at the End of the Lane rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best, this would rank about 7.

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

This is the first performance by Neil Gaiman that I have listened to. I really enjoyed his voice and his presence.