utter randomonium

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman: When Richard Mayhew helps a bleeding girl on the sidewalk, his life is turned utterly upside-down. First his fiance dumps him, then he seems to no longer exist: taxis won’t stop for him, people don’t notice him unless he speaks directly to them, then forget him immediately after. He then journeys into London Below, a strange world of magic and sewers and abandoned tube stations. This is Gaiman’s forte: take the real world and then flip it on its head, revealing the strange beauty beneath. There’s a real sense of wonder woven throughout the story, making me desperately want to visit these places, meet these characters, see these sights. The villians were nefarious and even the heroes were a bit disturbing at times. I think my favorites were Old Bailey and the marquis, though I wasn’t sure how I felt about the marquis for quite a bit of the tale. If you’re looking to try out Gaiman, this is a good book to start with.

Side note: did anyone else notice that the physical description of Richard Mayhew very much resembles Gaiman himself?

Also posted on BookCrossing.

P.S. – I’m seeing Neil Gaiman speak tonight at George Mason University. Yay! :D