Week 8 - The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman's short novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane was very reminiscent of stories of fairies. To be honest, I began reading this novel without knowing it was by Gaiman, and I noticed a lot of parallels to his other story, Coraline, so once I found out this was by him, it made a lot of sense.

Gaiman's stories seem to show interest in the concept of fairy tales and old folklore revolving around fairies, and it shows a lot in this novel. In the beginning of the story, I found a very nostalgic appeal to its tone. The protagonist was living a calm childhood in his hometown, which I imagined being somewhat rural. He had his own little clubhouse and he would visit his friend Lettie, and everything seemed to have that childhood appeal to it.

The fantasy aspect of the story picked up once Lettie and the protagonist headed out into that forest. By then, there were already signs of fairy tale themes, like when Lettie uses a hazel wand to find stuff, which seems to be used for magical purposes.

I found it super interesting that Ursula Monkton is a fairy trying to capture the protagonist. In old folklore, fairies were known to use "glamour," which makes them appear welcoming. This is also something that the Other Mother would use in Coraline to make herself look like Coraline's real mother. Another tie into fairy folklore in both of these stories is how the fairies provide delicious food. In folklore, food from fairies is dangerous and could result in terrible magical enchantments. Ursula attempts to lure in the protagonist, but he's super mistrustful of her, unlike Coraline, where she was so bored by her parents' food, that she willingly ate the Other Mother's, giving the Other Mother power over her.

These parallels to Coraline made The Ocean at the End of the Lane an interesting read, plus the imagery was just as captivating to me.