The Ocean at the End of the Lane Characters

Protagonists AnonymousIsn't it strange that the character we are supposed to identify most with in this novel doesn't even have a name? How hard would it have been for the author to let his mom say...

A Living Embodiment of The Son of Man Lettie is the very definition of enigmatic. On the surface she's just an eleven-year-old girl with cute freckles and a peculiarly mature outlook, but once the...

Come on, Get HappyNeil Gaiman describes the flea's original form as something like a decaying circus tent: I thought I was looking at a building at first: that it was some kind of tent, as high as...

Can She be Our Grandma?Gran Hempstock is, how should we put this gently, umm… awesome. She's older than the moon, and yet she's still up for battle with devious hunger birds (after a nice restful...

Mysterious MommaGinnie Hempstock is not exactly your typical mom—she's got powers and knowledge that would blow June Cleaver and her vacuum out of the water. And we're not even really sure that s...

He's a Sucker for Fleas that Wear PinkThe boy's father is like a scarier version of Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins. He's stern, old-fashioned, and the stress of being under financial strain makes him...

Elvis WannabeWe kind of want to hate this guy right from the very beginning. When he shows up at the boy's house, his taxi runs over his sweet little kitten, and for some reason he thinks that repl...

What a PainThe boy's sister is one of those stereotypical goody two shoes. She's always telling on him to their parents, and she's such a suck-up to Ursula Monkton that she makes us gag a little bi...

Where Are You?The mom is barely around during these trying times for the boy. Ursula is taken on as a boarder/babysitter right after his mom gets a new job down at the optometrist's, which will kee...

Prankster BoarderGertruda is mentioned briefly as their previous boarder that the boy and his sister protested against because she liked to do things like short-sheet their beds. Dunno about you, b...

Ancient People in ServitudeMr. Wollery provides landscaping services and Mrs. Wollery does a bit of housekeeping for the family. They sound really old, and not in the best of health.

The Girl He Once Kissed Who Lives Down the StreetHe alludes to this girl several times in that vague way: I remembered being just-sixteen, and kissing red-cheeked, fair-haired Callie Anders, who li...

The Slumber Party that StunkHe's the only sleep-over the boy has been invited to, and he asks to come home early because Chris shoots him with water guns the minute the lights are turned out. We do...

CleanersThe hunger birds, or what Gran refers to as "varmints," are kind of like supernatural janitors/immigration agents. When something is out of hand or doesn't belong in a certain world, their...