The Ocean At The End Of The Lane

“Grown-ups don’t look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they’re big and thoughtless and they always know what they’re doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren’t any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world.”

A man returns home for a funeral and is reminded of the past he tried to forget. There is the girl who claimed the pond behind her house was an ocean, her magical mother and grandmother. Then there is the sinister woman who makes herself at home in the boy’s house, ensnaring his father and creating a dangerous situation for the boy, his sister, and Lettie- the mysterious girl at the end of the lane. Rich with symbolism, this story is a fantastic introduction into the magical realism that Neil Gaiman does so well. Anyone who has ever felt unsafe at home or unsure of their place in the world will relate to the protagonist’s plight.