WIJFR: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (possible sp)

julie37619 · April 2014

Y'all, I feel like I'm totally missing out on something here. You guys love NG, my IRL book club is obsessed with NG, but somehow I'm just not getting it. I thought TOATEOTL was ok, and I was really expecting to be blown away by Neverwhere, but I just wasn't. It wasn't bad, I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't engrossed like I expected to be. There were definitely good parts, and it had a very Dr. Who feel to it, but I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. What am I missing?

alithebride · April 2014

Nothing. I wasn't a fan either. I know a lot of people love it but just want my thing.

duxcaelo · April 2014

I listened to it. I think that makes some of the situations presented in a different light, especially with some of the character names. I tend to think dry humor needs pauses and that is done much better on audio, especially with NG as the narrator- his accent is lovely.

booneybear · April 2014

For me, NG is the only author that I feel can make me (as a reader) truly believe that I am actually IN the world he creates. When I read NG the real world goes away and nothing else exists except NG's words.

Lauren620 · April 2014

I loved TOATEOTL and The Graveyard Book, but I never really got into Neverwhere or Good Omens. They just weren't really my thing. I agree with @duxcaelo that it makes a difference to listen to an audio that NG narrates.

EliStar · April 2014

His writing and world building and imagination completely blow me away.

But just because you're not a fan doesn't mean you're missing anything. It's just not your thing.

MORE NG FOR MEEEEEEE

julie37619 · April 2014

Have any of you seen the 1996 mini-series? I'm thinking I'll try watching it before book club meets and see if it helps me connect any more.

ThisModernLove · April 2014

I haven't seen the miniseries but I've heard it's awful.

For me, NG is an acquired taste. I don't want to read him all the time but when I want to be engrossed in a world that reminds me of my childhood books but "adult", I turn to him. It's the creation of the world and characters that I could never think up and feel totally original compared to other works that I love so much about him.

RevJen · April 2014

I like him and his ability to create a little bit of WTF in the world as we know it. But there are other authors I'll reach for first before him.

84Lauren · April 2014

Because I can't explain my connection to NG in words, I figure it's not really a very logical thing and it make sense that the "magic" just isn't there for some people.

That said, I die a little inside when people don't like his stuff.

j*&p* · April 2014

julie37619 said:

Have any of you seen the 1996 mini-series? I'm thinking I'll try watching it before book club meets and see if it helps me connect any more.

The mini-series was pretty awful. Neverwhere is my favorite Neil Gaiman book, and I still thought it was cheesy and not very well done and I never finished it. I think NG has even commented on how he disliked the mini-series. However, BBC radio did a nice radio adaptation that you might want to check out though. James McAvoy plays Richard and Benedict Cumberbatch plays the angel Islington. There are lots of other noteable actors who do voices too.

Sad face that you didn't like the book

. I love the incredible imagination that goes into Neil Gaiman's worlds. They feel like the edge of magic to me and I also love the smart details that he includes, like inside jokes for mythology buffs or people who love or study the subject matter of his books. For example, I recently read about a guy named Henry Mayhew, who was a journalist and social reformer in the late 19th century who documented the lives of the poor, including a huge body of work on people who lived underground and in the sewers and encountered strange creatures. There's a cool article on it here. I'm sure that Richard's last name is a nod to him.

I don't think you're "missing" anything though. Some books/authors just don't do it for some people.

pirogoeth · April 2014

julie37619 said:

Have any of you seen the 1996 mini-series? I'm thinking I'll try watching it before book club meets and see if it helps me connect any more.

DH had me sit down an watch it one night. I loved it, but I love anything NG or British. When I listened to the book, it really filled out the series, mostly because you can do alot more in a book than on TV. At this point, I don't think it would make you dislike the book more. :: shrugs ::

WIJFR: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (possible sp)

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