The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is a fantasy novel that tells the tale of a young boy and an incredible experience he had during his childhood. There were parts of the story that reminded me of both my own life and other fantasy books I enjoyed as a kid. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist is an adult who has returned to the town he grew up in for a funeral. He explores the farm of a childhood friend, and his memories of being a boy come flooding back to him. This is very relatable to me, as I have had the experience many times where a familiar image, sound, or even smell will abruptly shoot me back to a forgotten time from my childhood. It can be very thrilling to suddenly remember things you hadn’t thought of in years and years. I really enjoyed the passage where the protagonist explains his excitement about knowing his way around the yard, despite barely remembering the house even existed only hours before.
Although the main characters of this novel are children, there is a large amount of disturbing and adult content in this book. The horror that Ursula brings upon the young boy was shocking to me, and played on a lot of fears I held as a child. While I was lucky enough to grow up in a very loving household, I was always afraid of getting in trouble with my father, just like the main character is. I would have nightmares where my parents hurt me, so to read a scene where the little boy realizes his father is drowning him was very upsetting. Later he confronts Ursula and says “You made my Daddy hurt me” (heartbreaking to read) and her response is that she did not make anyone do anything. This suggests that while she may have had some influence, the desire to sleep with Ursula and hurt his disobedient son was somewhere inside the father deep down all along. She only brought those desires to the forefront.
Overall, this book put a mature lens on the modern fantasy story. It explores how the presence of both helpful and harmful magic would affect a young boy’s life. Although parts of it were really hard to get through, I enjoyed reading a story from this perspective and am glad to have chosen The Ocean at the End of the Lane for this week.
I really liked your comment about Ursula bringing out the worst in the boy's father. It shows what kind of character she is - one that can easily manipulate others in order to shift the blame/use as a scare tactic. This shifts some of the son's fear from Ursula to his father, which would've impacted him long after the final battle, if his memories had stayed.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment about Ursula as well. I think the way Gaiman explored and exposed the hard realities of life, like the father’s buried desires and the malevolent effect some people have over others, in a powerful way. It certainly was a mature view of urban fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI had a really similar experience reading the book. It's rare for a piece of media to really tap into the feelings I had as a child but Gaiman seems to have a talent for it. When the narrater remembers how no on came to his birthday party and to cope he loses himself into the lives of fictional character in his books I felt that very deeply. I am lucky to have a loving family, and now also have very great friends but like the narrator I was a lonely child whom was too shy to reach out. Gaiman captured that type of isolation in a way that cuts deep and while it hurts to remember feelings I have either long forgotten or tried to forget, it makes you appreciate what you have now. The same way the narrator remembers his childhood at the Hempstocks and comes away wiser for it, as audience members we do the same.
ReplyDeleteI think your comment about Ursula not having that much of an impact in the awful things happening in his family is spot on. In my opinion, I believe that the character of Ursula in the book is Gaiman's way of personifying a dysfunctional family, creating a character that serves as the connection between the father having problems with his marriage and him taking it out on his son. It is indeed a dark motif that Gaiman softens by adding elements of fantasy.
ReplyDelete