Neverwhere: A Novel Paperback – January 19, 2021

Gaiman has always been hit or miss for me. Some of his books I love, some I don’t care for, so I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Neverwhere, outside of the fact that there’s something deeply satisfying about holding the illustrated version—something about thick little hardcovers is just the best feeling. Anyway, Neverwhere is a not subtle in its message: the homeless are invisible to those who want to pretend the “problem” doesn’t exist—but make it magic that has a very Tim Burton feel, because this is Gaiman, after all. When Richard sees one of those who have fallen through the cracks—a citizen of London Below—and proceeds to help her, it sets off a chain of events that plunges him into London Below and makes him just as invisible to London Above, and his old life, as the rest of the characters in this novel. In which there a lot, all of which are unique and magical and so beautifully distinct from each other. I even loved Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup who are unequivocally terrible people, but they are written in such a creative way that I couldn’t help but love them just as much as Richard and our heroine Door, with her opal-colored eyes.I loved the prose of Neverwhere, it read almost like it was meant for children when it’s so clearly not. There’s this whimsy to it, alongside Gaiman’s love of a metaphor and simile, which made the whole style just as magical as London Below. Speaking of, I loved the characters that populated this secret place. Gaiman was able to weave in a complex mystery and twists and turns into something that should have been an otherwise very straight forward plot: find out why/who is after Door and killed her family, and get Richard back to London Above. Gaimain, in this particular book anyway, is able to make you love and care for a character so, so deeply and then cut you to the core by taking them away all in one chapter. He’s also able to play with your mind about what is truly reality for Richard, and who should our main characters trust in a way that really added to the twists at the end. It was masterfully done!I will say that I read A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab before reading Neverwhere, and after reading Gaiman’s book, it’s really easy to see where Schwab got a lot of inspiration for that series: everything from the different types of Londons that only one person really seems to be able to move between, and even a certain magical coat. I’m not mad about this at all! It’s clear that Schwab idolizes Gaiman, and her writing is an homage to that without being a rip off. Its just something to keep in mind if you read this and things start sounding… familiar.All in all, this was a perfectly satisfying read—from just holding the book, to the perfect illustrations, the magical whimsy of the writing, and the cast of incredible characters that inhabit London Below. The story is dark, but with moments of tenderness and humor so I never felt bogged down to the point where I could no longer appreciate the imagery. Gaiman’s fantasy is always a reflection of reality with fantastic elements, so the ugly parts of our world are still present, but made magic so when you read you don’t necessarily feel preached to. But I can definitely understand why this style may not be for everyone—Gaiman doesn’t describe anything in a straightforward manner, instead almost tricking the reader into visualizing these delightful things. Which I loved, personally! This book was quirky and deep, fantastic and the kind of realistic urban fantasy I didn’t know I was missing until now, which is why this gets an easy 5 stars from me!

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is, for lack of a better description, The Sandman comics in novel form. Neverwhere may not have Gods, or dream weavers, or scary men with teeth for eyes, but it is a creative exploration of dreams and pure imagination.And unfortunately, I was not a fan.I know, I know, I can already see the readers foaming at the mouth. “How can you NOT like Neverwhere? Neil Gaiman is the greatest writer that ever lived!”My issue with the book has nothing to do with Neverwhere’s writing. Neil Gaiman’s prose remains consistently magical and is full of little details that make London Below come alive. But before I go into why I wasn’t a fan, you should know what Neverwhere is about.The plot is about Richard Mayhew, an ordinary guy. He works at an office, has a regular 9 to 5 job, and he’s with a girlfriend that tolerates his existence. One night, Richard encounters a girl on the run from two men. Richard’s tries to save the girl and ends up transported into an alternate reality called, London Below.When Richard attempts to resume his normal life by going to work or visiting his girlfriend, he quickly realizes that everyone is ignoring him. He leaves and goes to his apartment, but when he gets there he finds it occupied by strangers. Whenever he tries to speak to his best friend or his girlfriend, they say one word to him and move on as if he didn’t exist. This alternate reality had somehow turned Richard into a ghost.Stuck with no apartment, no money, no job, no girlfriend, Richard decides to find the girl who got him in this mess in the first place. Her name is Door. Door is the daughter of some nobility in London below and also has the capability to open . . . you guessed it, doors. But when Richard finally meets Door, she tells him that she can’t bring him back to his home dimension.Richard’s quest to return to the London Above begins. This is the premise of Neverwhere.So what is the London Below? To describe it simply, London Below is what would happen if you fell asleep on the subway and had a nightmare. It is a twisted, non sensical version of London where “Minding the Gap” means watch out for the monster that lives in the gap between train and the platform. The rats are messengers for the homeless. Junk and random items can be bartered (including your life). And a street name like, Knightsbridge could literally mean that knights are guarding it.London Below is what would happen if underground subways were towns and marketplaces. And it is this underground theme that ultimately left me uninterested in the book. As a former rider of trains, there is nothing fun or enjoyable to me about a world built around the underground.Sadly, it wasn’t just the world that disinterested me, the characters also left me detached from the experience. The Marquis De Carabas was written as a cool and suave character; a man so interesting, he needed to have his own bonus content at the back of the book.I did not read these pages because the Marquis did not interest me. Hunter, a woman who often protected and saved Richard from certain doom, also failed to engage me. I liked Door well enough and I loved the villain, but Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar embodied a type of aesthetic and style that bored me.The irony is, the book wasn’t boring.Unlike Ocean at the End of the Lane which has a dreadfully slow beginning, Gaiman’s Neverwhere moves at a steady pace. It’s not too fast, not too slow, just right. Unfortunately, underground worlds are a huge turn off for me, no matter how creative or well written they are. Neverwhere felt like a universe that could exist in a Steampunk setting and I hate Steampunk.And this, I understand, is a matter of personal taste. It is the equivalent of a die-hard medieval fantasy novel reader trying to force themselves to read a Star Wars book. It doesn’t matter if the characters or plot is interesting, the world will fail to suck in the reader. Neverwhere failed to suck me in.Had I been a fan of this underground world I would have called Neverwhere a great book, easily 5 stars. Still, for those of you who do like underground themed worlds, then I would highly recommend giving Neverwhere a read. Neil Gaiman, even when he produces work that fails to engage me, is still an amazing writer and I can’t imagine giving Neverwhere anything less than . . .4 out of 5 stars.