As someone who is suffering from a Stranger Things hangover, Neverwhere was the perfect book to go back into the world of alternate universes. Dark, witty and imaginative, Neverwhere was a delight through and through.
The story follows Richard Mayhew, who leads a dull, predictable regular adult life whose idea of "injecting a little personality into his working world" is to place a troll figure on his computer monitor. However, his life turns around when he finds himself in the midst of chaos when he decides to help a wounded girl. He finds out that the girl, Door, is from London Below, an alternative world with rules quite different from our own. Door is on the run from two hired professionals, Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup. As Richard starts getting involved in Door's alternate world, he becomes almost invisible in our own. Helpless and desperate to be noticed again, he decides to follow Door to London Below where he goes on an unbelievable and almost life-threatening adventure exploring London Below, interacting with "rat speakers" and seeing a real-life angel for the first time. One thing is certain - life will never go back to normal for Richard or for any of us, for that matter.
“Richard wrote a diary entry in his head. Dear Diary, he began. On Friday I had a job, a fiancée, a home, and a life that made sense. (Well, as much as any life makes sense). Then I found an injured girl bleeding on the pavement, and I tried to be a Good Samaritan. Now I've got no fiancée, no home, no job, and I'm walking around a couple of hundred feet under the streets of London with the projected life expectancy of a suicidal fruitfly.”
The story follows Richard Mayhew, who leads a dull, predictable regular adult life whose idea of "injecting a little personality into his working world" is to place a troll figure on his computer monitor. However, his life turns around when he finds himself in the midst of chaos when he decides to help a wounded girl. He finds out that the girl, Door, is from London Below, an alternative world with rules quite different from our own. Door is on the run from two hired professionals, Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup. As Richard starts getting involved in Door's alternate world, he becomes almost invisible in our own. Helpless and desperate to be noticed again, he decides to follow Door to London Below where he goes on an unbelievable and almost life-threatening adventure exploring London Below, interacting with "rat speakers" and seeing a real-life angel for the first time. One thing is certain - life will never go back to normal for Richard or for any of us, for that matter.
“Richard wrote a diary entry in his head. Dear Diary, he began. On Friday I had a job, a fiancée, a home, and a life that made sense. (Well, as much as any life makes sense). Then I found an injured girl bleeding on the pavement, and I tried to be a Good Samaritan. Now I've got no fiancée, no home, no job, and I'm walking around a couple of hundred feet under the streets of London with the projected life expectancy of a suicidal fruitfly.”
The most wonderful thing about this book is that even though it is technically an "adult" fantasy, it has the imaginative quality of a children's fiction. It creates an atmosphere which almost fools you into thinking that you're a part of the adventures in London Below.
Then there's the characterization - Richard's as mundane as a man can ever be. He does not strike you as particularly heroic. Yet, when push comes to shove, he surprises you with what an ordinary man can achieve when he puts his mind to it. Another character who leaves a lasting impression is Hunter. She's beautiful and physically strong and a very focused individual, in general. She defies so many gender stereotypes that it's hard not to like her.
In conclusion, this was one of the most fascinating and engaging books that I have ever read. I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Also, this book was released as a companion novel to a BBC miniseries of the same name. I would recommend checking it out (although, I've never seen it myself so I can't really comment on it).
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