I Read: Neverwhere

I Read: Neverwhere

I had only read Neil Gaiman's comic book work before. He's been one of the most interesting writers I have come across and I have wanted to read one of his novels.  After having a friend's copy sit on my shelf forever, I finally sat down and read it. It was only after I was nearly done that I found out it was a novelization of a BBC TV series he wrote.  Haven't seen the show, but it explains a few things.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Illustration: The Fop with No Name
The first thing I gathered  from the book was that Neil Gaiman's prose is as great in novels as it is in comics.  I thoroughly enjoyed his writing.  Funny, poetic, and tactfully concise, I look forward to reading more of his work. I recommend reading this one.  Now, to get into the novel's contents.  Be warned, I will talk freely about plot points and characters, so if you haven't read it... don't read this. Everyone ok?  Good. Let's continue.
The plot essentially finds an everyman who stumbles into an injured woman that pulls him into a secret world of forgotten people in the underworld of London. This is a fascinating concept for a book. It essentially takes many of the concepts associated with the homeless, mixes in some magic, and makes a mythology out of it.  In our world, homeless people are constantly on the move, are almost instantly forgotten after you look away from them, and have an association with mental instability and can be prone to ranting, saying crazy things, and conversing with the non-existent.  In the world of Neverwhere, an entire civilization lives beneath us and in the forgotten places in the world, they literally disappear from people's view, exist beside insane things like talking rats, magical doorways, and supernatural beings, and they appear crazy to the 'above' world.  Neat, huh?
Now for how much I like the concepts involved (like the magic door-opener Door, the secret bartering culture, and nearly immortal maniacs that hold medieval court in a subway car) the story is a little bland.  It is a basic 'fish-out-of-water' story with an Alice in Wonderland type of quality to it.  And No, comparing this to Alice in Wonderland is not a good thing.  To me, Alice is a story about random and weird events happening to someone who thinks they are stupid.  Neverwhere has a bit of wonder at this fascinating world, but mostly, the main character has a derisive, angry, and frightened attitude towards the weird and random things happening to him. Well written derision at randomness, but still randomness.
And when it isn't random, its predictable.  What? There's a suspicious guy, who keeps doing suspicious things after the bad guys say they should suspect a traitor? I'm going to trust him. What? There is a powerful and trustworthy character I'm supposed to have faith in despite mysterious behavior? Traitor!There are many points that can be predicted relatively easily.  The villain is obviously the villain from the moment we are introduced to him.  Maybe that's the point, but it seems too subtle to be a tipping-off to the reader.  I think it mostly comes from the story structure itself.  It's so 'by-the-book' I guess I know it too well.
Also, our protagonist, Robert, is an everyman.  I'm not a fan of the everyman.  He doesn't quite have enough quirks to qualify as a personality.  He has very little curiosity in the magical world he has entered, and just wants to go back to his boring life.  I know that's the story we're used to reading, but it doesn't make it good, at least in this case.
Not that I'm saying he shouldn't miss or want something of his old life.  The underworld is filthy, violent, and full of smelly people covered in shit. The design of this world is based off of every homeless person, vacant lot, and dirty dumpster you have ever seen put together.  Not exactly the most beautiful place to be, not that it has to be.  I like a bit of grunginess and ugliness in stuff, but I know it can be too much for some.
It has some funny and interesting moments, and I love the concept of a house assembled from different rooms around the city, but it gets far too little use.  I could have had a large portion of the book exploring that.  I like the character Door mostly for her abilities, and less for her personality, as she doesnt't have much of one.  But on some level I think the concept needs stock characters in a stock plot in order to show it off.  I'm not entirely against stock characters.  I know their purpose, they are useful in getting reluctant readers into weird worlds.  I get it.  I'm just a reader who can easily pop into a weird world, and would like some interesting people to meet me when I get there.
The short of it is, I enjoyed the book for the writing and the concept.  The plot and characters were a little dull, but I recommend reading it, as Neil Gaiman can make words a joy.