Neverwhere Group Read The Conclusion

This is the conclusion to the Neverwhere Group Read which picks up from Chapter 13 and continues on to the end.  (You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)  There are no questions, just my thoughts on these final chapters and what I think of the characters.  It will still contain spoilers, so proceed with caution if you have not read or finished reading the book.  Also, this is a pretty weak wrap up from me but here it is...

When Chapter 13 begins, Richard has passed the final test of the Black Friars and the key is now in their possession.  All that's left is to give it to the angel Islington.  Along the journey there are betrayals, revelations and a final showdown when Door learns the truth and the angel Islington isn't as nice as he seemed.


I was surprised that it was Islington who had Door’s family killed, leaving her to get the key and open the door that would release him.  His motives make sense but I didn't see it coming.  I haven't decided if that was a good thing or not.  Door must have seen it coming considering she was clever enough to have a copy of the key made as a backup plan if they were betrayed.  But I wish I could care more about her, her journey and finding her sister who is supposedly still alive.  I really have no other feelings for Door.  I didn't find her interesting at all, though I suppose her odd layers of clothes was supposed to make her so.

I am glad the marquis de Carabas survived and he’s up to his usual tricks, now that apparently Door owes him a favor.  I was hoping there was some kind of London Below magic that would bring him back and it did.

I was disappointed with the twist that Hunter was bribed by Croup and Vandemar.  And disappointed again when she faced the beast and was taken down so quickly.  I wasn’t disappointed in Hunter, the character’s choice, just the way it was set up in the story.  I mean, what did she do?  She delivered Door to Islington, which is what they were doing anyways, right?  Islington asked for the key, they were bringing it to him.  I also didn’t like that it was Richard who then killed the beast.  Hunter has been killing strange, mythical creatures all along.  She has the training and the drive and this guy who was crying on a plank kills it?

I don’t know.  It’s been down, up and back down for me with this book.  I honestly haven’t thought much about it after I finished it.  I wish I could have enjoyed it more but there just wasn’t enough there for me to care much for the characters I should have cared for.  And the final scene when Islington’s motives were revealed just felt so dull.  But this comes after finishing Railsea which, to me, had a great conclusion with some great action near the end that had me tense with excitement.  I didn’t get that with Neverwhere.  But this won’t stop me reading more Neil Gaiman.


I've had these up and down experiences when reading the short stories in Fragile Things.   And the way I feel about Neverwhere is the same I way I felt after finishing American Gods.  A friend described that some of Neil Gaiman’s work is like an itch you can’t quite scratch.  I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that makes me not enjoy some of these stories like others can.  But I did enjoy Anansi Boys and look forward to reading Coraline, The Graveyard Book and Stardust in the future.

I also did enjoy reading the thoughts of others who participated in the group read.  For their insight on Neverwhere, check them out here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Conclusion 

Neverwhere Group Read Part 2

It’s time for Part 2 of the Neverwhere group read.  This part covers chapters 6 through 12 (I forgot to mention that part 1 covered the prologue through chapter 5).  So what has happened since then?  Spoilers below …

Richard, having nowhere to go, is accompanying Door, her guard Hunter, through the underworld of London.  Door finds the angel, Islington, who instructs her to get a key from the Black Friars.  While those three are on the quest for the key, the Marquis is on a quest of his own; a quest for information that leads him into trouble.

So, let’s get started with the group read questions!

1.  Chapter 6 begins with Richard chanting the mantra, "I want to go home".  How do you feel about Richard and his reactions at this point to the unexpected adventure he finds himself on?
It is expected from someone who led such a quiet, stable life.  He still has a lot of growing up to do but I suppose he’s getting there and he’s not as whiny as he was after completing the last test of the Black Friars.  But I just haven’t been able to quite connect with him just yet.

2.  The Marquis de Carabas was even more mysterious and cagey during the first part of this week's reading.  What were your reactions to him/thoughts about him as you followed his activities?
I didn’t trust him at all, especially when I found him meeting up with Croup and Vandemar.  I was thinking, “Don’t you dare turn against Door!”  Then it turns out he was there to get information from them for Door!  I like him a lot now.

3.  How did you feel about the Ordeal of the Key?
I think it was fairly obvious Richard would get through the last test.  I read through it not taking much of it in.  Like I said, I haven’t really connected with him yet so I just wanted to get through his part of the test as quickly as possible.

And this whole thing felt so much like The Matrix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, test/revelations occurring on a train platform.  The bad thing is that those events happened after this book was published!  But those are movies and each have had a bigger impact with me so I know them so well that when I get to this part in the book I’m a snob and sigh and roll my eyes thinking to myself that I’ve been there done that all before.  I know, I know, I really shouldn’t be like that.

4.  This section of the book is filled with moments.  Small, sometimes quite significant, moments that pass within a few pages but stick with you.  What are one or two of these that you haven't discussed yet that stood out to you, or that you particularly enjoyed.
I liked the moment when Old Bailey realized the Marquis was in trouble.  I hope they get to him in time!

5.  Any other things/ideas that you want to talk about from this section of the book?
Ok, I am kind of curious about the key and what it’s for and what the Black Friars are going to do now without the key because they seemed pretty distraught, in a subdued, friar-ish way, about losing it.   I also found Serpentine interesting and I’d like to hear more about the Seven Sisters.

Well, so far I’m on Team Hunter and Marquis de Carabas.  They got some moments where we got to know them better and that was nice.  Door is just there.  I hope she finds out what happened to her family but she has no personality to me.  Richard is the same for me.  He’s just there and I’m waiting to see that spark from him that shows he’s a stronger person.  I guess him getting through the Ordeal of the Key was it, but it didn’t feel like enough for me.  I also found I liked Croup and Vandemar more in these chapters.  I laughed when Croup got upset that they were not allowed to do what they’re good at and ran through a list of their greatest hits.  I like how they completely ignored their agreement with the Marquis.  I hope he’ll be alright in the end but I kind of love that they just don’t care.

Overall, I had a much more enjoyable time with these chapters then the first five, so onward to the end!  And I want to thank everyone who commented on part 1.  It wasn't all that cheerful and I really appreciated the encouragement and insight.

Neverwhere Group Read Part 1

The Once Upon A Time Challenge is still going strong and it is time for the Neverwhere group read I signed on to participate in.


In Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Richard Mayhew’s life is turned upside down after stopping to help a bleeding girl on the sidewalk.  He is thrust into a world he never knew existed in the underground tunnels of London where magic and danger thrive.


Below are questions in bold for the group read and my answers follow.  The questions do not contain spoilers but my answers could so proceed with caution.


1.  What do you think of our two villains thus far, Messrs. Croup and Vandemar? 
Standard stock villains with no soul who seem to have no limits, except finding everyone else but who they’re supposed to kill.  I mean, why did they waste time on that Varney guy when they could have continued tracking Door on their own?


2.  Thus far we've had a small taste of London Below and of the people who inhabit it.  What do you think of this world, this space that lies within or somewhat overlaps the space the "real world" occupies?
It makes me think of fandoms and how the internet has enabled people who feel they don’t belong find each other and create their own space to belong to.


3.  What ideas or themes are you seeing in these first 5 chapters of Neverwhere?  Are there any that you are particularly drawn to?
So far just that people need a place to belong to.  That’s all I can think of right now.  I’m just not into analyzing it much, as you will see at the end of this post.


4.  We've met a number of secondary characters in the novel, who has grabbed your attention and why?
The Hunter.  She seems no-nonsense, can take care of herself and I imagined her as Gina Torres and I have a girl crush on her.


5.  As you consider the Floating Market, what kind of things does your imagination conjure up? What would you hope to find, or what would you be looking for, at the Market?
It makes me think of flea markets.  Not the fancy ones you only see on TV where some interior designer is going “bargain hunting” but the real flea markets where you have to dig through piles of dirty, broken stuff to find lost treasure and hope you don’t need a tetanus shot after.  Like some of the places those American Picker guys dig through.


6.  If you haven't already answered it in the questions above, what are your overall impressions of the book to this point?
I don’t know.  It hasn’t grabbed me yet.  I feels similar, like I’ve seen or read it before such as in Anansi Boys and American Gods: Your plain ol’ average Joe being led through some mystical world he knows  nothing about.


So far, I’m only reading this book for the group read, not because I want to.  I keep counting the pages to see when a chapter ends so I know when I can get back to another book I’m reading.  I’m finding I enjoyed reading about what’s going on under London in this book I read earlier this year.  I hope this changes soon because I want to enjoy Neverwhere but so far I’m not and that's why my answers are so short and lackadaisical.