A Review of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
My Neil Gaiman journey continues with his second novel Neverwhere. Heading in, I knew nothing of the novel. Not being a Gaiman fan, I did not want my objective approach tainted with his fame, reputation, or fan input. Neverwhere is a fun urban fantasy story was fairly easy to get through.
Richard Mayhew is a regular Londoner with a decent job, a beautiful fiancée, and a flat. On his way to a dinner with his fiancée’s boss, he notices an injured girl on the street. Richard decides to help her, taking her back to his flat and trying to help treat her wounds. The next day, his world is brought to an end. Everyone acts as if he is invisible. Taxis won’t stop for him, people walk past without acknowledging him, his coworkers clean out his desk, and his landlord shows his flat to some new prospective tenants as if he isn’t in there with them.
The mystery of his invisibility takes him to the London Below, a place that seems to exist parallel to the London he knows. It is where the mystery girl comes from and where he must go to figure out how to return himself to existence in the world above.
The Characters of Neverwhere by Segundus. See here.
The people that inhabit London Below are fantastic, whimsical characters that appear to be homeless lunatics but refer to themselves as nobles, warriors, and assassins of the dangerous realm. There is Door, the injured girl Richard saved. She can open gates to many places in London Below and back up to the Above. The Marquis de Carabas is an eccentric and shady figure and Hunter is a great warrior hired to be Door’s bodyguard. Reluctantly, they let Richard follow them around as Door tries to find out who is trying to kill her.
Whimsical is the best word to describe the absurd fantasy realm created by Gaiman. It is meant to be comical most of the time but gets occasionally serious. Some of these funny and strange people are extremely dangerous. Richard is the straight man, the stand in for the reader as we learn about London Below together.
Richard is also a coward, in over his head. His ordeal allows him to grow into something more than the passive, beta-type personality that didn’t really live with much meaning or ambition in the above. He left most decisions to his pushy fiancée. His growth and self-realization is at the center of the story with the call to adventure coming, reluctantly, from Door.
The adventure centers on Door, a young girl whose family was murdered and now she’s on the run. The main villains are fantastic creations. Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar are some kind of demons with great chemistry and banter between them. Both felt like they came from a Guy Ritchie movie.
The dialogue and strange events reminded me of Doctor Who and other examples from British TV and cinema. Neil Gaiman embodies the style beautifully, creating a vibrant and exciting fantasy world. They incorporate religious iconography that is surprisingly serious. Unlike other writers, he is not trying to critique Christianity or religiosity. His half-serious, half-absurd take on angels and other Biblical beings was compelling and fun.
The most powerful theme in the book is that of the forgotten people, those of the invisible London Below. The resemblance to the homeless and impoverished corners of London—or any major city—is striking. The world above ignores them as if they are invisible. At first, Richard’s fiancée doesn’t see Door bleeding on the street at all and walks right by. Their bizarre behavior is consistent with the view many have of homeless, that of being mentally ill and delusional.
At one point in the story Richard returns to London Above and doubts that the London Below was real. Maybe it was a hallucination during a low point. Maybe he was intoxicated and in the gutter after being dumped. Given his state, his mind may have constructed the great adventure and characters to make sense of his destitute situation. Maybe it was all just a coping mechanism.
When regular society ignores you and casts you out, you are no longer part of the “Above”, perhaps it is only natural that one would create their own alternate reality with their own fiefdoms, titles, and conflicts. The regular world doesn’t matter to you anymore, only your own small world, your Below.
Neil Gaiman takes this concept to build what feels like a real London Below, a shared reality or hallucination, depending on how you look at it.
It isn’t a fairy tale and definitely not family friendly. It is violent, ruthless, and with a bit of sexual content. Yet in this dark, dangerous place, Richard manages to make friends, go on adventures and bond. Even among these vile characters, friendship is possible.
Of the two Gaiman books I’ve read, Good Omens and Neverwhere, the latter is a little more enjoyable. Good Omens seems more for younger readers, despite some adult themes and a bit of sexual content. The humor in particular was more G-rated Pixar jokes. Neverwhere has some of that as well but doesn’t try as hard to be funny. Neither are particularly funny for my taste but Neverwhere seldom made me cringe.
The Gaiman journey shall continue. Technically Stardust is next but I am more interested to start American Gods.