The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Another little gem from Neil Gaiman, author of Stardust, Good Omens, The Graveyard Book, and many more. Told as a recollection by a middle aged man who has returned to his childhood village for a funeral, we experience his memories of an eventful few days when he was a small, bookish and bullied 7-year old boy who inadvertently sets loose dark forces that want to take control of him, his family, the village, and maybe much more. The imagery is vivid and compelling, creating a real sense of menace and inescapability.  Fortunately for the boy, he has help in the form of the remarkable women (if they are women) at Hempstock Farm down at the end of the lane. Eleven-year old Lettie promises to protect him from the trouble if only he hangs on to her hand, but he drops it for only a moment and the damage is done. Nevertheless, he eventually makes his way back to Lettie, Mrs. Hempstock and old Mrs. Hempstock who take on the mysterious magical forces that threaten everything he thought he could count on. And Lettie does protect him, sacrificing herself to save him. The muddy duck pond at the farm is, as Lettie had asserted, really an ocean--an ocean of knowledge, and perhaps renewal. You might call this a really good ghost story; like other reviewers, once I started I could not put it down.