lunes, 11 de julio de 2016

Perdida en el océano de Neil Gaiman



Mis arrebatadores, he tenido la suerte de participar en el tour de THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE (El océano al final del camino), de Neil Gaiman, porque así he probado la imaginación cautivadora de este escritor. No decepciona.

Puede que sea pequeño en tamaño y la narración produzca una sensación hogareña. Sin embargo, es toda una aventura de emociones profundas.

Lo que comienza como una historia intimista de un niño reservado en un pueblo, con granjas y problemas económicos, se convierte paulatinamente en un cuento de terror. Me he sentido partícipe, siendo yo también ese niño que se deja llevar por sus vecinos inusuales, que afronta las maravillas sobrenaturales con aceptación, que lucha con sus diminutas fuerzas físicas y sus campeonas fuerzas mentales contra un monstruo intangible, imbatible, que poco a poco devora la realidad.

Me ha fascinado esa cualidad del texto. Empieza con cosas familiares, simples, dulces, pero crece casi sin que te des cuenta hasta convertirse en una lid épica que aúna fábulas mágicas, horrores fantásticos y psicóticos, y la vida campestre de un pueblo.

Las palabras son sencillas y producen un efecto evocador al estilo británico, con sus lugares llenos de alma, sus cocinas humeantes de afecto y comidas calientes y té y tartas con natillas, y los niños que siempre acaban topándose con la soterrada vida sobrenatural de sus paisajes bucólicos.

Da un poco de miedo al mismo tiempo que maravilla. Me daban ganas de refugiarme bajo la cama, pero también de beber té a todas horas, jajaja.

Esta versión en inglés tiene 180 páginas, los bordes de las páginas están cortados a capas y la cubierta tiene el título en relieve. Lo curioso es que la imagen es de una chica en lugar de un niño. Imagino que será la amiga del protagonista.

El final me ha dejado algo embobada, sin saber a qué atenerme, medio triste y soñadora. ¿Son todas las historias de Gaiman de esta guisa? :o)



EL OCÉANO AL FINAL DEL CAMINO
NEIL GAIMAN
Tapa flexible con solapas
240 págs.
Género mágico infantil
Año publicación:
2013
Título original:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Precio según formatos disponibles:
18, 13, 9 y 8 pellizcos


the tour in English


The Ocean At the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane 

Author: Neil Gaiman 
Release Date: June 28, 2016 
Publisher: William Morrow 
Genre: Coming of Age 
Format: Ebook/Paperback/Hardcover/Audio

 UK National Book Awards 2013 "Book of the Year"

 “Fantasy of the very best.” Wall Street Journal

 A middle-aged man returns to his childhood home to attend a funeral. Although the house he lived in is long gone, he is drawn to the farm at the end of the road, where, when he was seven, he encountered a most remarkable girl, Lettie Hempstock, and her mother and grandmother. He hasn’t thought of Lettie in decades, and yet as he sits by the pond (a pond that she’d claimed was an ocean) behind the ramshackle old farmhouse where she once lived, the unremembered past comes flooding back. And it is a past too strange, too frightening, too dangerous to have happened to anyone, let alone a small boy. A groundbreaking work as delicate as a butterfly’s wing and as menacing as a knife in the dark, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human, and shows the power of stories to reveal and shelter us from the darkness inside and out.

“[Gaiman’s] mind is a dark fathomless ocean, and every time I sink into it, this world fades, replaced by one far more terrible and beautiful in which I will happily drown.” New York Times Book Review 
    photo B6096376-6C81-4465-8935-CE890C777EB9-1855-000001A1E900B890_zps5affbed6.jpgB&NWilliam Morrow


MY OPINION


It's a beautiful, unsettling rendering of life through the eyes of a little boy, speckled with fairy-tale mystery and knife-sharp reality.

It starts as a cozy tale of a seven-year old boy who experiences the world through books and describes his home, his family and his neighbours in sweet, natural tones. Then, it slowly grows into uncharted territory where ancient monsters lurk  and adults are blind to see and powerless to protect him and themselves.

The narrative is evocative, with its own melodic cadence that is so British and becomes spooky as the horror unfolds from the depths of an eerie forest.

Some people the boy meet are reminiscent of traditional folklore stories with scenes that are comforting to the soul and full of good magic. Yet there are other forces at large that seem like hidden dragons that cannot be defeated in crude daylight. Those parts are disturbing and I felt like a child again, scared and unbelieved by grown-ups.

It may be small in size and homey in words, yet it's a big adventure with a big heart. In particular, I like it because the boy represents the young spirit we all carry inside, dormant but always ready to recognise that we are not so much in control of the wild side of nature, which includes ourselves.

As the boy's adventure developed, it grew in darkness and mysterious powers and universal truths that are always beyond the grasp of conscience. It was a joy to read because the narrative flows with a poetic, yet simple grace, and they supernatural devours reason with surprising acceptance from both the boy and the reader. I felt oddly comforted by the heart-warming presence of delicious food (porridge, custard, pies and tea), while all around the characters there was an increasing force of uneasiness and threat.

It's a strange folklore fairytale that entertains and disquiets . In the end, it allows us to wake up as if from a dream, and we're as unsure as the boy about what it all meant and if it was ever there.

Citas favoritas:

Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have.

Adults should not weep, I knew. They did not have mothers who would comfort them.


About the mastermind:

Neil Gaiman

 Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains; the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and MirrorsFragile Things, and Trigger Warning. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, and the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. Originally from England, he now lives in the United States. He is Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

 Visit his website at http://www.neilgaiman.com  

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Tour Schedule

 ________
 Tuesday, June 21 - Book reviewed at Stormy Nights Reviewing and Bloggin'
Book reviewed at Mina's Bookshelf
Book reviewed at Leigh Anderson Romance
Wednesday, June 22 - Book reviewed at The Mystery Tavern
Thursday, June 23 - Book reviewed at Books for Books
Friday, June 24 - Book reviewed at AMD on Software
________
Monday, June 27 - Book reviewed at The Reading Queen
Tuesday, June 28 - Book reviewed at Doing Some Reading
Thursday, June 30 - Book reviewed at Comfy Reading
Friday, July 1 - Book reviewed at Shannon's Book Blog
Book reviewed at Her Book Thoughts
________
Monday, July 4 - Book reviewed at I'm Shelf-ish
Tuesday, July 5 - Book reviewed at Chapter by Chapter
Wednesday, July 6 - Book reviewed at Reading Reality
Thursday, July 7 - Book reviewed at Latte Night Reviews
________
Monday, July 11 - Book reviewed at Torre de Babel
Tuesday, July 12 - Book reviewed at I Can Has Books
Book reviewed at The Book Bag
Book reviewed at Whispering Stories
Wednesday, July 13 - Book reviewed at Queen of All She Reads
Thursday, July 14 - Book reviewed at Rhi Reading
Friday, July 15 - Book reviewed at Blooming With Books
________
Monday, July 18 - Book reviewed at Southeast by Midwest
Tuesday, July 19 - Book reviewed at Svetlana Reads
Wednesday, July 20 - Book reviewed at Bound 4 Escape
Thursday, July 21 - Book reviewed at 100 Pages a Day
Friday, July 22 - Book reviewed at Natural Bri
Book reviewed at Bound 4 Escape
Saturday, July 23 - Book reviewed at Becky on Books
________
Monday, July 25 - Book reviewed at Book Bite Reviews
Thursday, July 28 - Book reviewed at Deal Sharing Aunt
Friday, July 29 - Book reviewed at I'd Rather Be at the Beach
Book reviewed at WTF Are You Reading
Saturday, July 30 - Book reviewed at Worth Getting in Bed For
Book reviewed at Chicks with Books
Book reviewed at Live Love Books Blog
Sunday, July 31 - Book reviewed at Cover 2 Cover
Book reviewed at Reads and Reviews
Book reviewed at Toot's Book Reviews
Book reviewed at Books Are Love
Book reviewed at Chosen By You Book Club
________

Babel cuentista.

6 comentarios:

Bemelë32 dijo...

Y yo sin leer nada de este autor... La verdad es que tiene una premisa muy buena y no dudo darle una oportunidad pronto. Me alegra saber que has hecho parte de la entrada en inglés ( y así de paso practico que lo tengo oxidado) <3

¡SE MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUY FELIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZ! :):)

→Tinuwel← dijo...

Me encantó esta historia!!! *.* Bueno Gaiman me gusta siempre, es mágico. :P

Alicia dijo...

Veo que voy a tener que leer a este autor!
Besos!

Margari dijo...

Ays, pero con qué ganas me dejas! Yo he leído poquito del autor, pero ese poquito siempre me ha conquistado.
Besotes!!!

Mangrii dijo...

Hola :) Para mi fue una lectura especial, como todas las que hago de Neil Gaiman. Me enamoro hace años con Coraline, me fascino con Stardust, me conquisto con El libro del cementerio y me hizo pedirle matrimonio con American Gods. Genial reseña que refleja mis sentimientos con esta historia. Un abrazo^^

Alviss dijo...

De él solo he leído El libro del cementerio y Coraline. Estaba en la librería, pero no me llamó la atención la portada. Y la historia tampoco. Lo mismo la próxima vez cae.
Gracias por la reseña guapa.