The story is classified as a fantasy and written to have taken place in England.  Our protagonist is a boy of 7 years old.  The story opens as he returns to his hometown as an adult.  Attending and speaking at the funeral of his father, emotions are running high and for him to escape these emotions, he regresses into a fantasy world of his childhood.  The situation has permitted him to slip back to thoughts of his childhood, which have not been thought of for years.   Talking to people, smelling smells and having thoughts brought back to the surface by emotions and perhaps a feeling of failure as his personal life has not gone well. 

Beginning as innocently as a fantasy can with a 7 year old child just wanting a comic book, the nightmare begins.  The story will slip in and out of reality for the reader and is written to keep the reader immersed in a story of demons and dark places, as well as some beautiful places with small kittens.  For much of the fantasy the demon is his father, which should not come as a true surprise to any of us; frequently a young boy will have fantasies of saving their mother.  And in this story our hero is no different.  Our 7 year old boy is innocent and untouched by the adult world as this story begins.  Only to become bogged down in the world of fantasy, just as real life catches up with each of us.  This is the story of life mirroring fantasy or is it just the opposite? 

Beginning with a stolen car (belonging to his father) which is recovered even before reported stolen and with, as it will turn out, a body in the backseat.  Immediately to the rescue is Letty Himstock, a young girl who is down to earth and matter of fact about all the horror which has just been unleashed, even as Letty helps him reach a safe place.  He will still remember the horrible sight in the car, when he looked in, more because he was not suppose too, as much as to get his comic.   Letty will help him; however, he will want more from her than just the protection of his sanity. 

Our young protagonist is stewarded and cradled by three women, one (Letty), her mother (Jenny) and one perhaps her grandmother; the point being that even when things seem there blackest one of them will reach out and protect our young man.   While traversing the minefield of youth and growing up, our friend needs to return to the world of black and white and all he knows to be true .  Sometimes things just begin to overwhelm him in a world sewing and snipping.   The people today after journeying through the last 7 years will not only appreciate the sewing and snipping, they will want to know where to find this kind of mending, and would be willing to pay plenty just for a look at the scissors and thread.

Although his father is the demon in this story; Ursula, his governess, is just as dark and foreboding in her relationship with him.  (Many a psychiatrist would have a whole career out of this.) She is very determined to have him immersed into her world.  There are undercurrents of adultery and abuse connected to her and there is never an apology for any of this damaging and crushing of innocence.  Ursula having determination to the point of burrowing into his foot in the guise of a worm or worse, will make squeamish people pull back and thrill seekers hunker down for more tales.

There is however a little too much description of the bizarre to make this a read for all people ten and up.  The story line is a classic and is well told without some of the more macabre and colorful descriptions.  It is easy enough to go along on a journey with   this young man and Letty.  Letty being a friend from childhood, who may have just come back into his life, as he returns to his hometown.  Like all of us Letty has aged and our protagonist is having some trouble placing this new woman who is older and more mature than he is aware of.   Obviously, he has grown and matured, however at this point he is remembering the substitutions in his youthful world of good and bad.  The story we are reading is filled with all human emotions and can easily be seen as a story written 50 or 60 years ago and called The Wizard of Oz. 

The Ocean is, I believe a symbol of life (but who’s or what’s); when described in the story – he asked his father the difference between a sea and the ocean, the definition given is ‘an ocean is a lot bigger’.  And if the ocean is life and the lane is a journey along this road, some will take this as drive along the side of life and while others will dive in.  Of course it could also be that Ocean is a cat, a pet which died and is fondly remembered.  Our young protagonist is moving along side, while Letty and those with her have made the plunge into the ocean.  For our protagonist the world (in this case his home town) around him is dangerous and filled with pitfalls.   This fantasy however, will take the reader out of the boy’s fantasy and put the reader in a grown man’s world of demons and prisons.

We must remember that as the story is unfolding which protagonist we are reading at that time, for otherwise we would soon come to believe our young protagonist was at the very least abused if not tortured.  And yet as he is being rescued more of the fanciful super power comes along to rescue him from the clutches of his evil father and governess to once again be a pure sweet little boy with an imagine which has run amuck.   Or has it, could our young protagonist have some physical frame of reference for the horrors and tortures which take place in this book? 

The hero of this story is not our young or older protagonist, rather it is Letty for whom he has thought of and dreamt about while growing to adulthood and wishing for in childhood perhaps snatched from him to soon.    Letty will never be the wonderful, free spirited, protector he wishes for, as this is only an illusion.  She can be however, a person to whom he will always have an overpowering attraction.     Certainly our protagonist has come back to this town of his childhood to clear his mind of the demons of a world far beyond that of you and me.   He will need to slay some of his old fears and give birth to some new memories to move on in his world.  And it is abundantly clear this person has not mastered the art of socialization or conversation.  He seems most content at work, even though there are other people in his life (an ex-wife, grown children and more).   

As we follow him through his fantasy we can be caught off guard by adult thoughts and observations which seem to have developed while he has lamented over this story from time to time in his adult years.  Certainly something must have been the catalyst for catapulting him into a fantasy such as this.   A psychiatrist might say it was the sight of a dead person when he was so young and unable to comprehend.  I would prefer it was the mind of a seven year old boy reading comics and using his imagination to place himself inside the stories of his youth.   An imagination which finds black and white, good and bad, love and tenderness, when bad things can be wiped out with just the wave of a hand and when evil and sickness inside our bodies can be taken out without any anesthetic and placed in a jar, to observe.  Imaginations can be a wonderful thing which will serve us well or they can be a macabre story teller which will only pull us down with them, this story will leave you with a not quite complete thought.

Our young protagonist has not published which of these is his story, but one thing is certain as we read this story and find ourselves caught up in the swirls of dark cloth and winds created by our mind, this is a story to read and then re-read because each time there is a twist we have either missed or did not think was that important to plot.   Well-crafted and with attention to detail that can be accomplished only by the experienced author.   One thing that stands out in the author’s talent is that this story crosses genera’s to produce a story for all.

Neil Gaiman has taken fantasy to the edge of realism and back with this story of a young boy coming of age in a surreal setting.  The questions, scares and scars are real for our youngster.  Just as Stephen King writes of terror and horror; Gaiman brings the same emotions to this fantasy.  Gaiman is a wordsmith crafting a story which is believable and strong.  Leaving us with thoughts of our own childhood and thoughts of our first love and home. 

I prefer not to place the ending of the book in front of the reader.  This is one book which will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.  Neil Giaman has crafted a story which can be a fable and true at the same time.  One which will entertain readers of fantasy certainly, however it will also appeal to readers of horror, mysteries and animal stories as well.

The book cover is very interesting and adds to the speculation.  Due to the nature of the writing I wish to only discuss the front cover of this book, Neil Giaman is a master of giving very little away from the writings just inside the dust cover.  The cover is over all black with an oval of blue swirling in the center of the cover.  This is a large portion of the front and one will get from this the notion of a young girl how is being raised up from the blue oval.  While reading this book it is interesting that Giaman is the one rising from the ocean or is that just to get us started.  Swirling in this oval one can imagine many things.  The cover along will pull a reader into the story and thus begins the witchcraft.

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RECOMMENDATIONS:

I enjoyed this story and not only reading but getting to know each of the characters.  The story was woven in such a way as to keep you engaged and looking for more.  The story is one which speaks to multiple genera’s as well as multiple people.  This book would be a good read for a book club of adults, especially book clubs where the attendees are both male and female.  The questions for book club facilitators could be something like this:

·         Did this really happen or is it pure fantasy?

·         Who is Letty in our protagonist’s real life?  Could this be a sister or perhaps someone closer to his age?

·         Does religion play a part in this story?   The crafting and design of witchery seem to suggest a time period in the first part of the twentieth century.  Religion was a prominent player in the lives of this generation.

·         What does the kitten symbolize?  Do you think the kitten could have been a symbol of his inability to protect his sister or mother from his father?

·         Are David’s feelings for Letty driving his inability to have a stable adult life?  Do you feel David will have to come to terms with this story to have a successful career and family life?

These could be a few of the questions.   I would highly recommend this to a college senior level sociology class.  I would not however recommend this book to any age level but adult.  So much in this book can be projected and dissected into dark and unforgiving thoughts.  Children need to be protected from some things.

I would also recommend this to aspiring fantasy writers as an example of good fantasy writing; weaving the present into the fantasy in such a way as to blur the lines of present and fiction.  Neil Gaiman has done a beautiful job of crafting a beautiful story of childhood into adult fantasy.  We as the readers are taken for an amazing trip through the life of a family attempting to project an amicable home live with parents which are not out of the norm.

And finally, I would recommend this book to the aspiring authors who wish to read and study the craft of a well woven story.    Gaiman has not only given us a story with a well-blended character line, but has then taken this to a higher level.