Unabridged Audiobook
If you like that sense of magical surrealism and mild sense of displacement (similar to Daniel Handler's A Series of Unfortunate Events) then you'll like this. Gaiman has the great ability of making everything seem perfectly natural all while being a touch off. I see most of the reviews give it such a low score because they went in expecting a non-fiction coming of age story (they're obviously not familiar with Gaiman's work). It is loosely based on the author's upbringing in Sussex and the sights and things he experienced as a child, but that is more the setting for the story than the actual story itself.
This is the first of Neil Gaiman's books I've experienced but it definitely won't be the last. We were entirely engrossed in the story. We became interested in Neil Gaiman after hearing him read a prompt copy of "A Christmas Carol". After that, we were interested in learning more about him and his work so, considering the research, I wasn't surprised, like others seemed to have been, by the fantasy. A well written story and pleasant narration.
I absolutely love this book! I was completely enthralled and could not wait to read more!
I just loved it, it's a youth story, told by an adult with the look of a child. And told by that same adult with is fantastic voice.
Wonderful that Neil himself is the reader
I could not get into this book at all. It started off good but it lost me when I realized it was fantasy, as I really don't care for that type of fiction. I wish the description had mentioned it or the book had been put in a different category. Disappointment.
Horrible and boring after a nice start. I thought this would be a coming of age book with some meaning to it instead of this rambling about WHAT!
I really wish that in book synopsis they would explain or tell you that there is a fantastical element in the story. I thought this was gonna be a really nice life-changing story but it was a disappointment.
Fantastic story! Usually I don't like these sort of stories, fantastical type stuff, but this was absolutely enthralling. Personally, I found the descriptions to be very enjoyable. I'm not sure if it was the setting itself or the descriptive style, but there was a certain James Herriot vibe to the writing. No Tricky-Woos, but the human characters were spun out similarly.
Drug on. You would forget what was happening. Too much said about nothing. Elaborate descriptions about a piece of honey comb or a vase. His voice was a bit monotone a would put me to sleep. The persons in the story became a bit silly .
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