“Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman

Published 08/14/09

While the cat’s away, Jen will play. But Jen is a good girl, and seeing as our editor has been in London, England, for a while, Jen dutifully read a book about London in her absence. However, “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman is not about the London tourists see … well, actually, it is in part, but it is the “London Below” that is gripping.

Whilst our fearless editor was gallivanting around London and we were all home pining for her, I thought a book about the timeless city would be appropriate.

“Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman is really neat. (Hey, I could have said NEAT-O, so leave it alone). I really enjoy the inner machinations of Neil Gaiman’s brain. He has written some really interestingly strange books. “Coraline”, which was just made into a Tim Burton film, and “Stardust” to name two.

He has a definite dark side that takes us far far away from real life and almost, but not entirely, brings us home again.

“Neverwhere” is the story of two Londons. One up above with which we are all familiar and then the London Below with which we are not.

Richard Mayhew plods along in his routine ‘London Above’ life. He has a fiancée, a job, an apartment. He expects, and indeed hopes for, more of the same.

Guess what? I know you know. He not only does not get it, but seemingly no longer wants it.

He meets a girl named Door who lives in ‘London Below’. Door is from a very dangerous, very exhilaratingly different London. Richard is sucked in and can not extricate himself. He meets the wildest characters. An infamously selfish hunter, two outrageously creepy henchmen, an Angel and loads of rats.

Richard finds himself fully engaged in a new way. He is terribly afraid he will not get his old life back. He is terribly afraid he is in mortal danger. In this, he finds himself more alive than ever. What part of his other life is as deeply fulfilling as constant fear and his mastery over it? Complacency is rarely the path to true happiness. Great trials reap great rewards. It works this way in our world too, people, so pay attention …

Gaiman’s talent for presenting the outlandish is well restrained. It seems quite feasible that this world should exist. These people could quite possibly be in our peripheral world. At the end of a lovely summer, it is always nice to have one last little vacation … especially if it is in your own head.