To be honest, I'm not entirely convinced this book could ever live up to the things that people were saying about it. So many people described it as the best book he has written, and other such praises. Very little was given away about the plot.

So I got my copy a few days before official publication, after seeing a talk with him, and it got me even more excited about the book. The combination of reality and fantasy that he described sounded perfect, to me.

So as I started reading, I realised the book wasn't quite what I was expecting. I'm not exactly sure WHAT I was expecting, given how little has really been explained about the content of the book itself. But it wasn't quite what I envisioned. But still I went on, and I found myself being drawn in to the story.

The tone is very impressive. While it starts off somewhat childlike, it seamlessly flows into darker territory, and despite the protagonist being a 7 year old child, it's very difficult to imagine this as a children's novel.

As I finished it, however, I'm not entirely sure whether I 'get' it. I very much enjoyed the book, and very much enjoyed the story, and, as always, Gaiman's characters are beautifully crafted. But I feel like there is another aspect to the book that I haven't picked up on. It's interesting, because Amanda Palmer mentioned something similar in her blog/review - that she enjoyed the book, she cried, but it still didn't make sense. And then she asked him something about it, and the pieces fell into place for her. And I feel like I need to have that epiphany, that dot connecting. I thin maybe I need to read it again.

I can feel the power beneath this story, I can feel there is something big stirring away just under the surface. And, on the first read, I have enjoyed it at face value. I feel like this deserves a second read to really discover and be blown away by what's underneath.