My Dad's Having an Affair so I Became Friends with a Literal God - by Neil Gaiman

The most prominent thing I noticed about Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane, is the author’s unique ability to write from a children’s perspective. The unnamed protagonist starts his narration as an adult looking back at his life, but when we read about his younger self, the tone of the story changes. This contrast made the story very immersive for me, especially when his younger self would describe things he didn’t fully understand, such as the dead man in the backseat of the car or his dad having an affair. Gaiman used very simplistic, sort sentence structure, which also aided in transporting me back to when I was young. This made the climax and resolution of the story all the more enlightening.

                When the protagonist first met the three Hempstock women, I figured they were witches. However, when Lettie Hempstock clearly stated that they were not witches, I was left wondering what their existence was meaning to represent. However, after finding out they were a version the Triple Goddess, the story made a lot more sense. The Ocean at the End of the Lane seems to be a sort of coming of age story. The young protagonist faces many situations and characters, both good and bad, that are far beyond his comprehension. He discovers that his parents are not perfect, evident in his father trying to drown him, and that the world can be full of scary things, like Ursula and the Hunger Birds (great band name). Ultimately, Lettie, the maiden of the Triple Goddess, sacrifices herself to save the main character. This indicated to me that his true childhood innocence was gone, to be replaced by a wiser and stronger form of himself that could survive in a less forgiving world. While Lettie is never truly gone, she is no longer with the protagonist.

                The idea that Lettie’s ultimate sacrifice was also a symbol for the protagonist losing his childhood innocence, is made even more evident when the protagonist returns to the Hempstock farm in his later years. Ginnie Hempstock is only seen at the end of the story, indicating that the protagonist may be in the final stage of the Triple Goddess, entering old age and becoming the crone. Furthermore, Ginnie says “Lettie did a very big thing for you. I think she mostly wants to find out what happened next, and whether it was worth everything she did.” Was the sacrifice of our own childhood wonder worth becoming the person we are today?