Date: 22 February 2015
Location: Jay & Gina
It was a dark and foggy night… Ok, not so dark at 4 PM, but it was foggy which was as I had requested for our meeting at our house to discuss Gaiman’s book. Jay and I loved the book when we heard it read by the author during a long drive. We were mesmerized by his voice describing the magical childhood memories. We both quite willingly fell into the supernatural world of the Hempstocks who tried to protect their scared little boy neighbor. I agree with the NY Times reviewer that “Gaiman is especially accomplished in navigating the cruel, uncertain dreamscape of childhood.”
The New York Times review of the book talked about the influence of Lewis Carroll on Gaiman. In fact, Gaiman quoted Carroll in the book, stating that the books the narrator read are where he — the narrator, is “offered clues and answers the human world could not.” From the book, “They taught me most of what I knew about what people did, about how to behave. They were my teachers and my advisers.” As an early, avid reader, I can really identify with the narrator’s statement.
Gaiman has stated this same idea in interviews, and the NY Times review notes that it is interesting to consider how he and other fantasy writers have inherited and revised the genre found in Lewis Carroll. One might consider that modern fantasy writers are reinventing fairy tales. “Perhaps we needed to not question the illogic of the circumstances but freely accept that the surreal is real.”
I think that those of us who can suspend disbelief for the fun and intrigue of the story are more likely to fall into the story offered. Give into whimsy. Perhaps our childishness still needs to be active on some level to be able to access the extraordinary. Those of us who enjoyed the book must still have a bit of whimsy. Do I sort of feel sorry for the those who didn’t/don’t??
A final quote from the NY Times reviewer: “His (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.”
— Gina