A man returns to his home town for a family funeral and finds himself seeking out the neighbors' house. Once there, he begins to remember a strange series of events that took place when he was seven years old.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I remember my own childhood vividly...I knew terrible things. But I knew I couldn't let adults know I knew. It would scare them."

Maurice Sendak, in conversation with Art Spiegelman, The New Yorker, September 27, 1993

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I don't think the protagonist is named in the book, but I didn't really think about it while I was reading the story. It only registered when I was trying to write something about the book here..and didn't know what he was called! This was a quick read, and I was sorry when it ended. I enjoyed learning a little more about the Hempstocks (I remember Liza from The Graveyard Book and suspect Gaiman may have more to share about them in the future)...and the opal miner's response to the situation with Fluffy drove me nuts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Earlier this year, a friend e-mailed me to say that Neil Gaiman was doing a book reading/signing in New York at approximately the same time I was already planning to be there for an origami convention...so I bought my ticket for the event at Symphony Space before even I got my plane ticket! It was a wonderful event, in a packed room: I took M is for Magic along and left it in the lobby beforehand, and it was found and journaled. Gaiman did a great job talking about the book and answering questions - we all laughed a lot. He read several bits from the book - I love listening to him read his stuff - and mentioned that while he didn't have a birthday when nobody came, he did have the first "book" cake in the neighboorhood.

Afterwards, he generously spent several hours signing books - as many copies of The Ocean at the End of the Lane as we wanted, plus one other item, and one personalization each.

I couldn't resist picking up two copies of this book at the signing; I'm hanging on to the other one, at least for now. :)

Here's another copy on my BookCrossing shelf.

This book went to Cafe Taj Mahal with TOC and found a new reader there: enjoy! I'll count this for Secretariat's 2013 Never Judge a Book By Its Cover Challenge (week 29) and Anhang's Diving the Oceans challenge.

Thanks for finding this book!

If you're new to Bookcrossing, I hope you will take some time to explore this wonderful free and anonymous community and learn what it has to offer.

Freed any good books lately? It's good for the circulation. :)

Received today at Café Taj Mahal. Thank you for sharing. Will read and return.

Ooh, quote from Timothy and Two Witches! My favorite book growing up.

A boy discovers his neighbors (three generations of women) have supernatural powers and a link to alternate reality(/ies) when the new boarder turns up dead in his father's car.

The acknowledgments note that he was unsure for whom he was writing this book. It is a little serious for children, with bits about child abuse and infidelity. I think he wrote it for someone like me (whose favorite book growing up was Timothy and Two Witches) who has gotten older now but still wants to believe in magic.

To TOC on 9/28/13.

Not my usual read, but I am very happy to have read it! Mr. Gaiman is a very descriptive writer and I enjoyed the story very much. May get me to read more fantasy...

Returning to TOC...who knows where it will go next?

To be released Saturday, October 29, at the Happy Holly-Day party.

This book is released in memory of BookCrosser purple58, who wanted all of her books to find good homes after she was gone. Please feel free to read it, keep it, pass it on...whatever you wish. If you have something to say about the book, or a memory to share about Holly, please feel free to post it here: she was never shy about sharing her opinions, so she wouldn't expect any less.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm so glad you've found this book!

Please take a moment to make a journal entry and let the book's previous readers know that it's safe with you.

How and where did you find the book? What did you think of it? What are you going to do with it next?

It's now your book, for you to do with as you please: keep it, pass it to a friend, or maybe even leave it where someone else can find it!

If you've ever wondered where your books go after they leave your hands, join BookCrossing and you may find out: you'll be able to follow the further adventures of your books as new readers make journal entries - sometimes from surprisingly far-flung locations.

(Think of it like Where's George for books: a little like geocaching or a treasure hunt - you can follow a registered book's journey every time someone makes a new entry. Some BookCrossers even leave books *in* geocaches!)

BookCrossing: making the whole world a library!

Swiping this back from the party pile to send it traveling a different way. :)

My friend Holly was strong-minded woman, with a generous soul, a great sense of humor, and a limited tolerance for idiots. Sadly, she won't be coming to our BookCrossing meetings any more: they won't be the same without her.

She wasn't big on journaling books, but she definitely believed in sharing them, and wanted her books to find new readers after she was gone.

I'd like to see some of her books go to other BookCrossers rather than releasing them all into the wild, so I'm sending this book off as a wishlist RABCK: hope it brightens someone's day!

Tracking #9549 0104 3303 6031 0752 70
ETA 11/16/16

Released for DragonGoddess's Tick Tock challenge.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm so glad you've found this book!

Please take a moment to make a journal entry and let the book's previous readers know that it's safe with you.

How and where did you find the book? What did you think of it? What are you going to do with it next?

It's now your book, for you to do with as you please: keep it, pass it to a friend, or maybe even leave it where someone else can find it!

If you've ever wondered where your books go after they leave your hands, join BookCrossing and you may find out: you'll be able to follow the further adventures of your books as new readers make journal entries - sometimes from surprisingly far-flung locations.

(Think of it like Where's George for books: a little like geocaching or a treasure hunt - you can follow a registered book's journey every time someone makes a new entry. Some BookCrossers even leave books *in* geocaches!)

BookCrossing: making the whole world a library!

Oh, what a kind RABCK! Thank you so much! I am currently listening to Neil Gaiman's collection of essays and introductions and I just watched the film version of his book -Coraline-, so this is very timely. Yay!