Thanks to everyone who will stop in today to join us for Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. It's a book I found difficult to put down since I was intensely curious to find out what would happen next. I'm in a hurry to get ready for work, so here are a few quick questions just to get us started:
- What do you think of Richard Mayhew as the main character? He has a nowhere job, an annoying girlfriend, a boring life, and can always be counted on to ask the stupid question. (For example, after Anaesthesia disappears from the bridge Richard says, "'There wasn't really anything to be scared of, was there?'" (p. 105) Your guide just got taken by the night. Duh, Richard.) Is it any surprise that he walks away from it all to become a non-person and wander the labrynth of London Below? Is the book really about him?
- "'Croup and Vandemar,' he said, smoothly, 'the Old Firm. Obstacles obliterated, nuisances eradicated, bothersome limbs removed and tutelary dentistry'" (p. 73). Who exactly are Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup? Richard's first impression compares them to a fox and a wolf, but are they truly terrifying or are they the novel's comic relief?
- The thing I enjoyed most about this novel was Gaiman's ability to play with words and places. There are friars at Blackfriars and an actual earl in Earl's Court. I've been to London at least six times, and I enjoyed Gaiman's new take on a old city since there seemed to be something to discover around every turn in the labrynth of London Below. What did you enjoy (or not) about the setting? Did you view it a simply a place or a character unto itself?
That should get things rolling. Gotta run for now but will be back later!
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