Upon finishing the book my first thought was simply "Delightful!" The general idea of the plot: a simple man taken out of his element and having to bumble his way thru a strange new world: is very familiar. Many authors go with it because it just works. Neil, naturally, works it well here.
Richard is a boring man living a humdrum life in a totally plain existence in a "present day" London. Gaiman was ?intentionally? vague about technology and it feels like that "present day" feel won't be outdated for a while. Richard almost literally trips over a woman fleeing from killers pursuing her from her wold of "London Below". The denizens of London Below are a part of the real world, but are pretty much invisible to the people of London. They are people that you pass by on the street and - if noticed at all - are instantly forgotten. They walk thru our world without really interacting with us at all. Being a very ordinary man with no real family and few friends, Richard still finds it hard to be suddenly unnoticeable after having helped Door, who - surprise - turns out to be a princess. Shocking, I know.. I've heard that one before too. But hey, it works!
With the help of the brash, roguish and handsome ( again! ) Marquis de Carabas, she tries to escape the cruel Mr Croup and the brutish Mr Vandemar who were hired to get her. There are plenty of very interesting and colorful minor characters like the Rat Speakers, the bird man, the Earl of Earl's Court and Door's bodyguard named simply "Hunter". The Marquis is a fantastic character but I was most intrigued by Hunter. I want to know more about her past.
I liked the clever progression of Richard's self assurance thru the story. As he gains confidence he starts to introduce himself to new people with more certainty. When he first is introduced to Door and the Marquis he mumbles and stumbles over saying his own name. So much that they misunderstand what his name actually is. By the meets new people toward the end of the book, he introduces himself simply as Richard. I thought that was a nice and subtle way to see the progression of the character.
I do think that I would have gotten more oft of the book if I were a Londoner. Several of the locations in the book are familiar locales to people who know their way around the Underground. If I ever make it to London maybe I'll take a "Neverwhere" tour. That has to exist, right?
p85
There was no moon, but the night sky was a riot of crisp and glittering autumn stars. There were streetlights, too, and lights on buildings and bridges, which looked like earthbound stars and they glimmered, repeatedly, as they were reflected with the city in the night water of the Thames. Its a fairyland, Richard thought.
p175
Mr Croop smiled like a snake with a crescent moon stuck in its mouth and his resemblance to Stolen Cadavers numbers 1 and 30 was, if anything, increased by this.
p176
"You see," explained Me Croop, in a voice like rancid butter, Right now we're just here to worry you." Mr Vandemar's voice was like a night wind blowing over a desert of bones "Make you suffer," he said. "Spoil your day."
p205
Mr Croup began to laugh. it sounded like pieces of blackboard being dragged over the nails of a wall of severed fingers.
p335
For a moment, upon waking, he had no idea at all who he was. It was a tremendously liberating feeling, as if her were able to be whatever her wanted to be; he could be anyone at all - able to try on any identity; he could be a man or a woman, a rat or a bird, a monster or a god. And then someone made a rustling noise, and he woke up the rest of the way, and in waking found that he was Richard Mayhew, whomever that was, whatever that meant. He was Richard Mayhew and he did not know where he was.
No comments:
Post a Comment