Name: Neverwhere
Rating: 4.107511045655375 (679 reviews)
ISBN: 9780060557812

Neil Gaiman

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

A Novel

Neverwhere

Jordan

"With cities, as with people, Mister Vandemar," said Mr. Croup, fastidiously, "the condition of the bowels is all-important."

ikkychan

The word 'fantasy' carries an immense ability to delve into the limitless landscapes of the most imaginative thoughts. Nothing is beyond its grasp: mighty dragons, mysterious wizards, enchanting forests, unearthly elves, and powerful magic are all common conceptions of the fantasy genre. They give tremendous help to those who seek an escape from their dreary existence; to add some spice and excitement to their bland reality; or to simply forge a new one filled with magical beings and fantastical beasts to help cope with their unbearable day. There’s nothing wrong with searching for an alternative universe that is so far detached from day-to-day life that it’s out of your depth, but there’s a whole other kind of imagined world that could bring you closer to the truth; the kind that mirrors your reality, albeit with a touch of insanity; and lets you look deeper into your existence, wondering if there’s more to it than what meets the eye — the kind of fantasy that Neil Gaiman weaves in his debut novel “Neverwhere”. Richard Mayhew is the epitome of your typical middle-class Englishman: a holder of a conventional desk job, an occupant of an average one-bedroom apartment, and a companion at the bar with his one work buddy. His existence is composed of a series of unremarkable traits commonly found in any urbanite in their thirties—except for his beautiful, funny, and controlling fiancée, Jessica. Jessica, in her pursuit of harnessing Richard’s ‘enormous amount of potential’, gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss her way to include him in a series of projects — tonight marks just one episode in her ongoing efforts. As they head to an upscale downtown restaurant to meet Jessica’s boss, Mr. Stockton, meticulously attired in a suit she handpicked to ensure a favorable impression on the capitalist frontrunner, Richard's routine takes an unexpected turn. He halts abruptly as he notices a girl just emerging from solid wall and lies on the pavement, bleeding from her arm. Disregarding Jessica’s suggestion that ‘someone else will be along; someone else will help her’, Richard takes it upon himself to lift the girl, named Door, in his arms and transport her to his flat. Little does he know that this act of kindness will exact a high cost, unveiling the Pandora's box of 'London Below.' In this otherworldly realm, Richard encounters a diverse array of morally ambiguous characters: the calculating and cunning Marquis de Carabas, the bodyguard Hunter, the feather-obsessed Old Bailey, the relentless killing duo Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, and the angel of the faint smile, Islington. His previously ordinary life has never felt more distant than now, trapped in this alternative side of London. The true delight in Neverwhere lies not so much in its final destination but in the journey leading to that conclusion. While the identity and motives of the main antagonist are of interest, the real focus is on the personal growth of characters like Richard and Door, as the theme of ‘Zero-to-Hero’ is big in Gaiman’s books. We can clearly see how Richard went on from being the weakling, lost chick of the group to someone with integrity and decisive will in the end. The interactions with captivating side characters, such as the Marquis de Carabas and Hunter, are thoroughly enjoyable. The exploration of every facet of London Below, along with its inhabitants, is a sheer pleasure (even down to its stinky sewers and vomit shop) as Gaiman assembles a bouquet of these cauliflowers of witty humor and enthralling depiction of familiar yet strange places in each page. He has skillfully crafted a world that is simultaneously delightful to explore and unsettling to contemplate. Immersing oneself in the realm of Neverwhere is a truly joyful experience. When you take a step back and ponder a bit, it’s clear that the narrative behind London Below and its inhabitants are the portrayal of the poor, the beggar and the homeless of the city themselves, whose presence are denied by the middle and upper class and have to live in a more precarious environment than those with privilege. Jessica comments on meeting Door, for example, is the classic avoidant excuse people say to justify their ignorance of these people, who actually need help (“...If you pay them any attention, Richard, they'll walk all over you. They all have homes, really…”). Anaesthesia’s whole backstory is a little hard to digest as it is the carbon copy of children and teenage abuse cases, who are deprived of the comfort of homes and family and end up ‘falling through the cracks’. The danger that they have to face on a regular basis harnesses them to be a society that has certain rules and ways of life that are widely different from its counterpart. However, it also points out the most endearing quality of our protagonist, Richard ‘the helplessly mediocre’ Mayhew. Over the course of the story, the characters and the readers were left baffled at times by his perseverance and resourcefulness which are uncalled for when you track him back to his default setting. While his cockiness when he realizes the scale of his new-found strength after facing the trial of Blackfriars and proceeds to use it to talk back at Hunter is rather annoying since it smells like internal misogyny to me (what? Listening to a more knowledgeable and stronger woman is emasculating to you? Really, Richard?) I would like to draw your focus to the very start, to the prologue, when Richard met an old woman in front of a pub who told him that "You've a good heart…Sometimes that's enough to see.” It is important to note that Door is surprised that Richard could see her, really see her, and acknowledge her presence, which is something that has never been done by the people of London Above. Having a compassion and caring disposition is enough to navigate you through life, offer a helping hand to those in need and solve problems. At least in this book. Neil Gaiman’s writings are the testament of his deep comprehension of fantasy. He recognizes that it goes beyond fairies frolicking, dragon slaying and dwarves mining. Instead, fantasy serves as a window to reality, to let us look back and reflect on the different dimensions of our existence. It doesn't present an alternate reality either; rather, it offers one seen through the imaginative lens. Not only he encapsulates the true nature of fantasy adeptly but he does it with the cleverness and captivating language that appears distinctively characteristic of British humorists, making his books a remarkable contender of fantasy writers everywhere.

S.M.

I read this quite a few years ago and liked it, but my son and I just finished listening to the author reading it and it was even better! Gaiman is a lovely reader, as well as a great writer. I will say that I wish he’d left out the short, gratuitous and grating scene of the couple making out on the bench, where she says, “what about your wife?” and he says, “fuck her!” to which she responds, “Don’t want to fuck her, want to fuck you.” It doesn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the novel nor doe it advance the plot in any way. My son is 13 and the rest of the book was fine for him, but that part took me by surprise and the rest of the book isn’t at all in the same vein.

M. Sosotris

I'm a bit torn. Neil Gaiman's prose is lovely and his worlds are immersive and textured. This particular novel was a thoroughly enjoyable read in that I loved inhabiting his colorful, terrifying London Below, and I fell in love with his characters. I felt a bit let down by the plot, though. I realize that it was supposed to be more of a fairy tale Wonderland/Oz homage, but I wasn't surprised by anything. It felt like a dull story set in an absolutely delightful world where darkness is genuinely unsettling, and rats can talk, and there's a floating marketplace that's never in the same place twice. It's an incredible setting that's wasted on your standard "Protagonist gets pulled into a fantasy setting and becomes a hero" plot. The narrative was oddly predictable and the big important moments felt rushed and/or contrived, which is really sad because there were plenty of incredible moments that genuinely stuck with me. I saw at least two major plot points coming a mile away. Gaiman is a master of atmosphere and whimsy, but I'm learning that sometimes a story can rely on that too much as this one did.

When I started reading, I would creep through a chapter or so, but it never really engrossed me to the point where I couldn't stop reading. It was waiting on a particularly lengthy oil change that gave me the chance to motor through the last third of the book, free of distractions. I finished it with a smile, but I don't know if I'll go out of my way to read it again.

Molly M

def not the thing i normally read + haven’t read a NG book in MANY years

i thought it was very good, but ? idk perhaps just wasn’t my thing? i’m having a hard time knowing why, but ! taste is taste

Sarah Sammis

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a fun example of the "fish out of water goes on a quest" type of fantasy. In this case the fantasy world is London and the points of interest are the stops along the Underground except they're not like what Richard Mayhew expects.

Neverwhereis not a unique fantasy but it is still a fun take on a standard form of fantasy. Gaiman playfully acknowledges the books that have come before his with twisted literary references. My favorite is his gory allusion to Winnie the Pooh.

Like all good fantasy quests, the hero (or heroine) must join up with a band of local travelers to complete his journey. Like Dorothy and Alice, Richard just wants to get home to the London he knows, not this London Below. As with Through the Looking Glass where it's helpful to have a chess board nearby to track Alice's progress, keep a map of the London Underground handy to see where Richard is in his quest.

There are too many literary allusions and puns to mention them all. While understanding them or knowing your way around London isn't necessary to enjoy the story the extra knowledge does make the experience of reading Neverwhere all the more fun.

Author's Preferred Text

Zahra

4.5 stars

What a fascinating world of alternative London! The story's truly like a breath of fresh air, different and quite unlike anything I've ever read before. This is my first ever Gaiman and I'm very excited to devour the rest.

Deepika Ramesh

In one particular scene, the narrator says, “Richard wandered through the huge rooms of the store, like a man in a trance…” That’s exactly how I felt when I read Neverwhere. Utterly trance-like. Full review here: https://worncorners.wordpress.com/201...

Tatiana

Neverwhere: 4/5

“You've a good heart. Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go. But mostly, it's not.”

Premise:
Neverwhere follows the perfectly ordinary life of Richard Mayhew. That is, until one day, he and his fiancee stumble across a girl in the middle of the road, broken and bleeding. Richard takes the girl, named Door, back to his apartment to get her help and finds himself in London Below - a place for those who have slipped through the cracks of ordinary reality and do not belong in normal London, or "London Above". Richard will do anything to get back to London Above and embarks on a mission alongside Door to try and navigate this new life, as well as finding a loophole back home.

"There are little pockets of old time in London, where things and places stay the same, like bubbles in amber,” she explained. “There’s a lot of time in London, and it has to go somewhere—it doesn’t all get used up at once."

Writing & Plot:
I'm not fully sure why it has taken me this long to pick up a book by Neil Gaiman. Still, I was presently surprised by his writing style. I'm unsure what it is exactly about his writing that scratches my brain in just the right place. He's clever, succinct, and in a way, conveys a feeling of nonchalant-ness throughout the book. It's easy to read and understand as well as engaging. 

I would say the plot is pretty straightforward, and there were bits that I felt were exaggerated or prolonged for no reason. That being said, It was overall a delightful story that you can easily immerse yourself in.

Characters:
I really fell in love with these characters. We have a full cast made of Richard Mayhew, Door, Hunter, Marquis de Carabas, and more. What's lovely about the latter three is that it really feels they belong in London Below and it brought them to life. They're normal.. but there is just something about them that's off. It is absolutely captivating, and I really enjoyed them all. I genuinely wish there was a sequel so we could revisit them.

“I mean, maybe I am crazy. I mean, maybe. But if this is all there is, then I don't want to be sane.”

Conclusion:
This is definitely not a book I would have picked up on my own. My friend Lexie and I buddy read this together, and I am so glad we did. This definitely took me by surprise, and if you're someone looking to get into either adult fantasy or urban fantasy, this is a great place to start.

★★★☆ // i did not particularly enjoy the lengthy descriptions. for the most part, i just want it to get to the point. i guess i was expecting some sort of feeling of dread going into this? but it’s just impossible not to get sucked into Neil Gaiman’s world. while i am not a fan of the first few chapters, it did pick up its pace for me in the back half.


  ”I thought I wanted this. I thought I wanted a nice, normal life. I mean, maybe I am crazy. I mean, maybe. But if this is all there is, then I don’t want to be sane. You know?”

THE EXTRAORDINARY FIRST NOVEL BY THE MASTER OF STORYTELLING ACCLAIMED BBC RADIO 4 DRAMATISATION WITH ALL-STAR CAST INCLUDING JAMES MCAVOY, NATALIE DORMER, DAVID HAREWOOD, SOPHIE OKONEDO AND BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH 'Prose that dances and dazzles . . . Gaiman describes the indescribable' SUSANNA CLARKE 'It's virtually impossible to read more than ten words by Neil Gaiman and not wish he would tell you the rest of the story' OBSERVER 'Much too clever to be caught in the net of a single interpretation' PHILIP PULLMAN --- 'I love doors. Anything that leads to possibilities' NEIL GAIMAN --- Under the streets of London lies a world most people could never dream of. When Richard Mayhew stops to help a girl he finds bleeding in the street, his unremarkable life changes in an instant. This act of kindness leads him to a place filled with murderers and angels, pale girls in black velvet, a Beast in a labyrinth and an Earl who holds Court in a tube train. It is strangely familiar yet utterly bizarre. Here is London Below, the city of people who have fallen between the cracks. And for Richard Mayhew, it's just the beginning. NEIL GAIMAN. WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES. --- **Includes an introduction to the author's preferred text, How the Marquis Got His Coat Back short story, reading-group discussion questions, an 'Altogether Different Prologue' and an interview with Neil Gaiman**

hileahrious

Honestly, meh. Ok disclaimer: this was my first audiobook experience and I haven’t read any other Gaiman books. I just don’t think this story is that great... it is mystical and at parts quite suspenseful and overall an enjoyable time, but mehhh. And the main character is so dumb it hurts my soul.

Jaden Nelson

an incredible and imaginative story from the King of fantasy writing.

This was my second read of the book and it was still just as fun, whimsical, and captivating as the first time.

Neil Gaiman has a way of describing the most ordinary things in the most interesting and unusual ways.

This time through I think I had a much stronger idea of the character motivations as well, and not just entertained by the bizarre, and it made the reading experience that much more enjoyable.

I also feel that the book, and especially the ending, really does make me question 'what would I do if I were Richard?' Because he is sort of described as being helpless, kind of dumb, and essentially has no control over his own life/actions. But, I then think, if I were suddenly thrown into a world where people could speak to rats, and crazy old men held royal court on a subway car, I would also be very much following the leader rather than leading. I just find Richard to be a very believable hero, simply because he is completely ordinary and thrown into a world of the extraordinary.

Emma Lechner

This was my second read of the book and it was still just as fun, whimsical, and captivating as the first time.

Neil Gaiman has a way of describing the most ordinary things in the most interesting and unusual ways.

This time through I think I had a much stronger idea of the character motivations as well, and not just entertained by the bizarre, and it made the reading experience that much more enjoyable.

I also feel that the book, and especially the ending, really does make me question 'what would I do if I were Richard?' Because he is sort of described as being helpless, kind of dumb, and essentially has no control over his own life/actions. But, I then think, if I were suddenly thrown into a world where people could speak to rats, and crazy old men held royal court on a subway car, I would also be very much following the leader rather than leading. I just find Richard to be a very believable hero, simply because he is completely ordinary and thrown into a world of the extraordinary.

Patricia Nelson

I liked this book. it reminded me of the Shadowhunter series by Cassandra Clare. Having been lucky enough to visit London a few times I enjoyed thinking about the place names in different and more literal terms, such as Blackfriars and Earl's Court. 
A big take away from the book for me is how we look at life, that being happy with where we are is fine but that sometimes reaching for different or more might be scary but ultimately more rich and fulfilling. 
It also struck me how small actions can take us down very different paths.
The book was a fast read for the second half but dragged a bit in the beginning. It's a better book to read in great chunks of time than in snippets. The chunks of time allow you to immerse yourself in the setting and with the characters.

Excellent, fast-paced, imaginative, and humane. If a little dark occasionally. Great entertainment and a feel-good adventure.

Bilge Ince

I didn’t want it to be end but I couldn’t drop it down to sleep as well. I’m so much in love with Neverwhere and London Below, obviously.

+ Excuse me. I know this is a personal question but are you clinically insane?
- Possible but very unlikely. Why?
+ Well, one of us must be. 

 When Angels go bad Richard they got worse than anyone. Remember Lucifer used to be an angel

momo-reads

This books confirms that Neil Gaiman books are totally hit or miss for me.  Ocean At The End Of The Lane- yes.  Good Omens?  Hell yes.  American Gods- nope.  Neverwhere, hard nope.

Colleen

When I first joined Goodreads, I started seeing Neil Gaiman's name pop up everywhere. At first I was a little puzzled that I was not familiar with such a popular author who had obviously been around for a while. But when I thought about it, it isn't that odd since I have spent many years avoiding the Fantasy genre. Occasionally I would dip a toe in, but I was most often quickly stung by the tentacles of the ostentatious, cheesy Fantasy out there which always sent me running back to the other side of Reading Land to the safety of my mountains of Historical Fiction and Mystery. I was surprised to find that I had seen (and liked) at least three movies based on Gaiman's books. Thus heartened, I decided to give his work a try.

And now I thoroughly understand why he is so popular! He has a unique flare and style. The world he built is unique enough to stand out, but not different enough to be bizarre or off-putting. It was a fun and adventurous journey. And I loved Gaiman's little bits of dry wit that were sprinkled throughout the book. I will choose subtle sarcasm over in-your-face, trying too hard humor any day.

The main character, Richard Mayhew, was a delightful underdog. Gaiman managed to make Richard endearingly awkward and naive without being bumbling or stupid. 

The one thing that bugged me about this book was the character of Mr. Vandemar. He was described in the beginning as this scary, wolfish character; but as the book progressed, I felt that he became more and more of a stereotypical big, dumb thug. And compared to the colorful characters surrounding him, he felt so flat. But this is a minor complaint really, and did not really take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Finally, I would like to mention that the Audiobook version of the story read by the author was simply amazing! Sometimes it really is best to have a creator of characters be the one to give them voice as well, and Neil Gaiman is certainly on of those cases. I absolutely loved listening to him read this book and I can't wait to hear more from him!

This review fulfills the "Funny Book" category of the Popsugar reading challenge. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

Faith Ho 

FANTASY coming back to it is like the warm embrace of a long-lost friend. I haven’t read fantasy in MONTHS (my two kinds of books are: bunch of ppl stab each other and fight mysterious creatures; and random protagonist walks around Thinking Things and nothing actually happens for hundreds of pages). This was a great book to be sucked into — filled with Good Twists and interesting characters and world building (I loved the concept of this world “below”, of people who are unnoticed). But I also do realise why fantasy is often in a series — a book feels too short to fully realise the entire arc of action and character (but this may be also because I sped-read it in a day, interspersed between history revision). Nevertheless (or neverwhere haha I have no more comedy braincells or any braincells for that matter) a very solid enjoyment. 

(note to self: update the months of book backlog after a’s lol. am i reading this before a levels ends? yes i make bad/good decisions)

Rhiannon Mansfield

This was the first Neil Gaiman book that I read and I absolutely loved it. I do not have it in my library but I am feeling a compulsion to go buy it. This is one of those books that I would love to be turned into a move.

Beau

I know, 5-stars. That's how good I thought this freakin' book was. Gaiman never ceases to amaze me. Never have I seen such a seamless ability to fuse the real-world and the fantasy-world together. When you can write a 370-page book about the sewers of London, where a protagonist learns to communicate with rats and ultimately becomes a figurehead of 'London Below' through a series of amazing mishaps; including instances with angels, two assassins who house similar traits to a fox and hound respectively, floating marketplaces, and an existential crisis where one is burdened by visions of people who are actually himself made manifest by the dark powers of the Blackfriars...well, there's something unique and imaginatively superb about it. This is the third Gaiman book I've read and for me this is up there with the prestigious American Gods. Perhaps not as complex in nature as American Gods but equally as magical, mysterious and flat-out bewildering - Neverwhere is a book I'll definitely pick up one day many years into the future. I'll flick the pages, I'll smile, and I'll remember why the world we see isn't the only world that's out there.

Prashanth Srivatsa

Largely set in underground London, the story revolves around a man who stumbles upon a bizarre world, reeking of canals, rats, angels and door-openers, in the quest for reclaiming the sanity of his life. Richly imagined, Gaiman is deliberate in using the rag-pickers and their ilk, typically no more important to us than a billboard or a trash can, and paints a simple narrative from the same palette of Alice in Wonderland. That he ends up provoking us working class into looking for hidden doors into magical realms isn't, however, altogether alluring, and falls just short of the kind of escapism Narnia or Hogwarts provided.

Rachel Kanyid

Starting to really enjoy Neil Gaiman books! Not sure why I hadn't picked up his books before. This book was a lot of fun!

Neverwhere A Novel

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