Friday, January 18, 2008
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Richard Mayhew is a exceedingly normal man in a normal job with a normal life. HIs fiance, the impossibly arrogant Jessica, dictates what he wears and where he goes, but he loves her and is satisfied with his normal, slightly boring life. Then a bleeding girl falls on the sidewalk in front of him, and, despite Jessica's imperative demand to leave her for someone else to take care of; Richard takes the girl to his place and helps her recover. This small act of kindness completely changes his life, and boring becomes only a fond memory. Richard has joined the legion of people who have fallen through the cracks and now inhabit the place below the streets of London, the tunnels and dead-ends and sewers, called London Below. Although not invisible, these people never seem to be seen by the above-Londoners which makes some very interesting circumstances as we follow Richard when he tries to help the girl, Door, on her quest to find the reason behind the murder of her family. The book teems with a cast of the most bizarre characters: some incredibly creepy and sinister like Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup, the ambiguous Marquis de Carabas, feisty Door, female bodyguard, Hunter, (what a great female character, obviously the toughest, ablest personality in the book) and the mysterious Angel Islington, just to name a few. There were disgusting moments, suspenseful moments, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments all interspersed with a delightful sense of fun and humor. The visuals that Gaiman creates with his descriptive talent were amazing. I wonder if the movie was able to capture the eerie, fantastical world of London Below. I found this book to be a great read for the R.I.P Challenge. It's my third Gaiman book. "Good Omens" is still my favorite, but, so far, they've all been good.
Rating: 4.5
Posted by Framed at 8:47 PM
21 comments:
Chris said...
Great review Framed :) I love this book! I have the BBC series on DVD and I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far and they capture the feeling of the book perfectly! I don't know why I haven't finished it yet. I would say that this is one of my favorite Gaiman books, but they're all "one of my favorites" :p I love the feel of this book though. You're absolutely right...his descriptive talent really is amazing. He creates an atmosphere so well and the cast of characters in this book are some of the most memorable that I've read.
9/14/2007 1:44 AM
Nymeth said...
The BBC series was actually created before the book - he ended up writing the novel because he felt that the series didn't quite tell the story he wanted to tell, but mood-wise it should be fine. I haven't seen it yet; I really need to one of these days.
Anyway, I'm very glad to see you enjoyed this book so much!
9/14/2007 2:00 AM
Cath said...
I really need to get around to reading some of Gaiman's novels. I've read Good Omens of course but nothing else other than the odd short story. I have added his short story collection, Smoke and Mirrors, to my RIP pool because I saw a good review of a couple of stories in that, so that's a start. But your excellent review has intrigued me.
9/14/2007 4:32 AM
raidergirl3 said...
Oh! I'm 100 pages from finishing, so I didn't read your review yet. I'll come back tomorrow. I'm loving this one!
9/14/2007 5:41 AM
Cassie said...
I'm excited to read this book someday. Sounds dark an foreboding..just what I like.
9/14/2007 8:20 AM
Debi said...
Why can't there just be twice as many hours in a day?!! This is one I'm really anxious to read!
9/14/2007 11:10 AM
Becky said...
I'm with Debi on this one. Why can't there be more hours in the day! My TBR list is too long already. But this one does sound good. :)
9/14/2007 12:37 PM
Booklogged said...
He does create the perfect atmosphere, doesn't he? I didn't realize there was a CD. We'll have to get together and watch it sometime.
9/14/2007 5:34 PM
Rhinoa said...
I read Neverwhere this year too and enjoyed it more than I was expecting. I like his graphic novels but wasn't too taken with a lot of the stories in Smoke and Mirrors. This was my first full length prose novel by him and I will definately be reading more. It was cool referencing all the underground stations and areas of London as I get the tube here most days so I could picture it all the more clearly.
9/15/2007 4:20 AM
Eva said...
I'm rereading this this month! (although not for the RIP challenge-I'm doing it for the single author one)
Now it seems everyone is reading it. :) I love Gaiman, but this isn't in my top three of his books. I thought it was fun, though!
9/15/2007 6:56 AM
3M said...
Glad you liked this! I just skimmed your review because I haven't read it yet but plan to.
I really loved Coraline and liked Stardust quite a bit.
9/15/2007 8:14 AM
gautami tripathy said...
I have not read Gaiman. I think I should get around him. I just glanced through your review. I want to read this book.
9/15/2007 10:00 AM
raidergirl3 said...
Great review for a great book. I want to go to London! I think this was my favorite Gaiman yet.
9/15/2007 1:11 PM
Jill said...
This is one of the ones I have on my list for Carl's RIP Challenge as well. Your comments are intriguing so maybe I'll do that one sooner rather than later.
9/15/2007 4:20 PM
Stephanie said...
Great review!! This is the first year I've read any Neil Gaiman...and I've read 3 books, and have Fragile Things sitting next to me now!
I just love the RIP challenge!! Such fun books to choose from!
9/16/2007 8:38 AM
gautami tripathy said...
You have been tagged here
9/16/2007 11:34 AM
Melody said...
Ooh...I've this book in my pile! Thanks for the great review. :)
9/16/2007 6:14 PM
Matt said...
I just finished reading this as well and posted my review. I didn't like it as much as you it looks like, but I thought it was pretty good. I still want to read more of his books.
9/17/2007 8:55 AM
Nicola said...
Wonderful review! I've only read Coraline so far. This sound so good!
9/26/2007 11:13 AM
Carrie K said...
Good Omens is my favorite too, but Neverwhere was fun.
9/29/2007 11:07 AM
Cereal Girl said...
I have seen the screen version and envy you for having read it first. The DVD is very good. It sounds like the adaptation is very close to the original. I recommend it.
Gaiman said in an interview that he was especially pleased with how the actors brought it to life in ways he hadn't imagined. The Marquis de Carabas, for example, is played by a charismatic black actor.
Richard Mayhew is a exceedingly normal man in a normal job with a normal life. HIs fiance, the impossibly arrogant Jessica, dictates what he wears and where he goes, but he loves her and is satisfied with his normal, slightly boring life. Then a bleeding girl falls on the sidewalk in front of him, and, despite Jessica's imperative demand to leave her for someone else to take care of; Richard takes the girl to his place and helps her recover. This small act of kindness completely changes his life, and boring becomes only a fond memory. Richard has joined the legion of people who have fallen through the cracks and now inhabit the place below the streets of London, the tunnels and dead-ends and sewers, called London Below. Although not invisible, these people never seem to be seen by the above-Londoners which makes some very interesting circumstances as we follow Richard when he tries to help the girl, Door, on her quest to find the reason behind the murder of her family. The book teems with a cast of the most bizarre characters: some incredibly creepy and sinister like Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup, the ambiguous Marquis de Carabas, feisty Door, female bodyguard, Hunter, (what a great female character, obviously the toughest, ablest personality in the book) and the mysterious Angel Islington, just to name a few. There were disgusting moments, suspenseful moments, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments all interspersed with a delightful sense of fun and humor. The visuals that Gaiman creates with his descriptive talent were amazing. I wonder if the movie was able to capture the eerie, fantastical world of London Below. I found this book to be a great read for the R.I.P Challenge. It's my third Gaiman book. "Good Omens" is still my favorite, but, so far, they've all been good.
Rating: 4.5
Posted by Framed at 8:47 PM
21 comments:
Chris said...
Great review Framed :) I love this book! I have the BBC series on DVD and I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far and they capture the feeling of the book perfectly! I don't know why I haven't finished it yet. I would say that this is one of my favorite Gaiman books, but they're all "one of my favorites" :p I love the feel of this book though. You're absolutely right...his descriptive talent really is amazing. He creates an atmosphere so well and the cast of characters in this book are some of the most memorable that I've read.
9/14/2007 1:44 AM
Nymeth said...
The BBC series was actually created before the book - he ended up writing the novel because he felt that the series didn't quite tell the story he wanted to tell, but mood-wise it should be fine. I haven't seen it yet; I really need to one of these days.
Anyway, I'm very glad to see you enjoyed this book so much!
9/14/2007 2:00 AM
Cath said...
I really need to get around to reading some of Gaiman's novels. I've read Good Omens of course but nothing else other than the odd short story. I have added his short story collection, Smoke and Mirrors, to my RIP pool because I saw a good review of a couple of stories in that, so that's a start. But your excellent review has intrigued me.
9/14/2007 4:32 AM
raidergirl3 said...
Oh! I'm 100 pages from finishing, so I didn't read your review yet. I'll come back tomorrow. I'm loving this one!
9/14/2007 5:41 AM
Cassie said...
I'm excited to read this book someday. Sounds dark an foreboding..just what I like.
9/14/2007 8:20 AM
Debi said...
Why can't there just be twice as many hours in a day?!! This is one I'm really anxious to read!
9/14/2007 11:10 AM
Becky said...
I'm with Debi on this one. Why can't there be more hours in the day! My TBR list is too long already. But this one does sound good. :)
9/14/2007 12:37 PM
Booklogged said...
He does create the perfect atmosphere, doesn't he? I didn't realize there was a CD. We'll have to get together and watch it sometime.
9/14/2007 5:34 PM
Rhinoa said...
I read Neverwhere this year too and enjoyed it more than I was expecting. I like his graphic novels but wasn't too taken with a lot of the stories in Smoke and Mirrors. This was my first full length prose novel by him and I will definately be reading more. It was cool referencing all the underground stations and areas of London as I get the tube here most days so I could picture it all the more clearly.
9/15/2007 4:20 AM
Eva said...
I'm rereading this this month! (although not for the RIP challenge-I'm doing it for the single author one)
Now it seems everyone is reading it. :) I love Gaiman, but this isn't in my top three of his books. I thought it was fun, though!
9/15/2007 6:56 AM
3M said...
Glad you liked this! I just skimmed your review because I haven't read it yet but plan to.
I really loved Coraline and liked Stardust quite a bit.
9/15/2007 8:14 AM
gautami tripathy said...
I have not read Gaiman. I think I should get around him. I just glanced through your review. I want to read this book.
9/15/2007 10:00 AM
raidergirl3 said...
Great review for a great book. I want to go to London! I think this was my favorite Gaiman yet.
9/15/2007 1:11 PM
Jill said...
This is one of the ones I have on my list for Carl's RIP Challenge as well. Your comments are intriguing so maybe I'll do that one sooner rather than later.
9/15/2007 4:20 PM
Stephanie said...
Great review!! This is the first year I've read any Neil Gaiman...and I've read 3 books, and have Fragile Things sitting next to me now!
I just love the RIP challenge!! Such fun books to choose from!
9/16/2007 8:38 AM
gautami tripathy said...
You have been tagged here
9/16/2007 11:34 AM
Melody said...
Ooh...I've this book in my pile! Thanks for the great review. :)
9/16/2007 6:14 PM
Matt said...
I just finished reading this as well and posted my review. I didn't like it as much as you it looks like, but I thought it was pretty good. I still want to read more of his books.
9/17/2007 8:55 AM
Nicola said...
Wonderful review! I've only read Coraline so far. This sound so good!
9/26/2007 11:13 AM
Carrie K said...
Good Omens is my favorite too, but Neverwhere was fun.
9/29/2007 11:07 AM
Cereal Girl said...
I have seen the screen version and envy you for having read it first. The DVD is very good. It sounds like the adaptation is very close to the original. I recommend it.
Gaiman said in an interview that he was especially pleased with how the actors brought it to life in ways he hadn't imagined. The Marquis de Carabas, for example, is played by a charismatic black actor.
# posted by Framed @ 7:17 PM 
