Bookworming: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

From my Instagram about a month ago:

I picked up The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman last Friday, but the weekend was so busy I only got around to reading it last night. I expected it to be a nice little fantasy book, but then I got to the middle and I found myself regretting that I started it in the middle of the night. It scared me, and when it finally calmed down, I went to sleep. I finished it this morning, with a cup of coconut macadamia tea for comfort. It left me feeling a little sad and somewhat awed. It takes you back to your childhood and then makes you realize you are an adult. My heart and brain are still hurting.

I don't really like reviews with spoilers so that's about all I can say about the book. Here's the description from Neil Gaiman's official website:

"A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is Neil Gaiman’s first new novel for adults since his #1 New York Times bestseller Anansi Boys. This bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery and survival, and memory and magic, makes the impossible all too real..." 

This is the blurb at the back of the book:

"A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home and is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl and her mother and grandmother. As he sits by the pond behind the ramshackle old house, the unremembered past comes flooding back -- a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. 

A groundbreaking work as delicate as a butterfly's wing and menacing as a knife in the dark, 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."

I love books that make me feel something not entirely comfortable, that make me think of things I normally wouldn't think about, that make the world seem a little different after reading them. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is that kind of book.  

p.s. When you're done reading the book and therefore have context, check out this Tumblr post of mine about Neil Gaiman's recipe for lemon pancakes.

Note: I usually don't post actual book reviews on Instagram. I just post a pic of the book I'm reading and my initial thoughts, but I somehow ended up writing everything I was thinking there. The book review needed to be here, so I figured I'd just do a re-post.