Neverwhere

A couple months ago, I bought Neverwhere for Kindle, by Neil Gaiman, as it was one of his more successful novels that I hadn't read yet. After finishing The End of the Pier, I figured I should read that next, since I was going to see Neil Gaiman a week later. I ended up barely not finishing it in time. Gaiman then mentioned the book in his talk and gave away a small spoiler. But no big deal.

I really seem to be eating up books lately, just because I've realized I can read during breakfast and lunch, and when I take the subway or train on weekends. I'm starting to agree with the people that say "always carry a book with you, as you never know when you might want to read." It's even easier now that I have a thin Kindle to read big books. I might just make my goal of 25 books this year--just two more than last year, but that felt like a lot.

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Book 9: Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

I'm not surprised it was hard to put down, as I know I like Gaiman's writing, but I haven't read a page-turner in a while. Felt good.

In London, Richard and his fiance Jessica are going out to dinner to meet her father, who is a media giant on par with Murdoch. As they walk, Jessica goes on and on about how to act around her father. They come upon a young woman named Door lying in the road, who appears to be wounded. Richard can't just leave the girl there, even though this dinner is a big deal to Jessica, so he picks the girl up. Jessica warns him that she'll break up with him if he does this, but he ignores her and takes the girl back home to take care of her.

From this day on, no one in London can see him or even remember him. He's essentially invisible, nonexistent. Only Door can see him. He follows her into a world they call "London Below" (whereas the world we know is "London Above"), where people can understand rats and pigeons, tube stations are actually named after things (there is an Earl at Earl's Court, etc), and crazy, magical things are considered normal.

I really admire Gaiman's imagination. The themes in it may not be as deep as some people like, but it's a great fantasy. Fun, funny, and memorable characters.