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© Eva M. Snyder this page last updated 8/22/99

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Sheherazahde's Review of

"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman

Avon: New York, 1997. Hard bound edition.

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Plot synopsis. Richard Mayhew has a very normal life until he stops to help a wounded girl on the sidewalk. His act of kindness rips him from his comfortably life in modern London and send him on an adventure in the dangerous and unpredictable land of London Below.

Theme: The hero's journey of self discovery though the dark side of the world we are familiar with.

Evaluation: I really liked this story it was fun and engaging, in a dark sort of way. However, when I came to do this evaluation I realized that this story was weak in a couple of areas that are usually very important to me. This story doesn't say anything new, it is the same old Good vs. Evil and Good triumphs in the end. I never for a moment thought Richard was in danger. Although with Gaiman even triumph is not very happy. But I did enjoy it so I had to ask my self why. The answer is that Gaiman's genius is not in grand themes it is in putting mythology back into our everyday lives.

This story is based around a map of the London Underground that is introduced in the Prolog. Gaiman has taken the quaint place names of London and built a mythological landscape. The story does not take place far away; it takes place under our feet and all around us.

Most of the other reviews have compared it to "Alice in Wonderland" and I can see the similarity but a better comparison is "The Wizard of Oz". The plot has the same form, the main character is whisked away from the world he knows by forces beyond his control and has to go on a quest to find his way home. There are even several mentions of Oz in the story.

I am a very visual thinker and I am familiar with Gaiman's work from his "Sandman" series. Usually when I read I visualize the characters realistically but throughout this book I kept seeing scenes drawn in the style of the Sandman graphic novels particularly "The Kindly Ones". There are many thematic resonances between "The Kindly Ones" and "Neverwhere".

Two interesting points of style. First, occasionally in the course of the story, we get to find out what people are dreaming. Sometimes the dreams contain foreshadowing, sometimes they contain exposition, and sometimes they are misleading. Second, sometimes Richard composes diary entries in his head. They are amusing.

On a more critical note. Part of the strength of "Neverwhere" is that it is easy for the reader to believe that street people live in a strange and dangerous reality different from our own. However, by making the people of Below literally invisible instead of just socially invisible he undermines this premise. We can understand that the people Below are "normal" people who have slipped through the cracks but if they really disappear into a different world then we wouldn't see them. We understand the concept of street people because we do see them. There is an implication that the people who live Below are people who once lived above but at the same time there is an understanding that people from Above don't last long Below. It is also stated that no one can live in both places but two street people are shown to be doing just that.

The people Below are always swearing "by Temple and Arch". I would have really liked to have found out what that means.

Overall, it was a good light read. Neil Gaiman knows how to leaven his darkness with humor and tell a good story.

Writing Level: Light Adult - I read this book in six hours over two nights. It is engaging and easy to read.

Content: Child safe in the American sense, of course, it is a bit gory but there is no sex. It is adult level reading and a bit scary but nothing unsuitable for anyone who is capable of reading it.

Writing skill: good

Genre: Urban Fantasy, mystery, adventure, thriller, horror, and mythology.

Mood: dark

Setting: Modern London, mythical London Below, The London Underground, and the "floating market".

Characters

How to cite this page:
MLA style:
Snyder, Eva M. "Sheherazahde's Review of "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman" Aug. 22,1999. Online. Internet. [Put here the date you read or printed this page]. Available WWW: http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Ithaca/7746/Books/NeilGaiman/Neverwhere.html

APA style:
Snyder, Eva M. (1999). Sheherazahde's Review of "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman. [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.oocities.org/Athens/Ithaca/7746/Books/NeilGaiman/Neverwhere.html


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