Neverwhere

I was given this to read back in the summer by a good friend of mine and it's been sitting on my desk ever since. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to it, but I sucked it up and had a hard time putting it down. I imagine that the next time I'm in a book store I'll be picking it up. Neil Gaiman is a master-storyteller. He takes the heroes journey and does absolutely marvelous things with it in this story of a regular man who discovers that London is actually separated into two places, the London Above that he's always known, and the London Below that is more mysterious and magical than this buttoned down Londoner is comfortable with.
You absolutely fall in love with the hero, Richard, as he makes his way around this world, trying to help the pixie girl, Door (adorable in her own right).
It's a fantasy book, but it's so much more than that. I know that a lot of people are turned off by the idea of fantasy, but I have to say that it shouldn't be the case with this book. The characters and themes are so damn compelling. It all feels very real, despite how ridiculous it all seems. And the book itself almost feels like a love letter to London, and how it uses the city as a character and not just a backdrop is something quite spectacular.
It's hard enough to get me to read a book, but I might even re-read this before long. I see that there is a graphic novel version - so I'm curious how that has been handled. I noticed that Netflix has the British mini-series that was made of it - I clicked on it to see what it was like, and as expected, it was kind of horrible. I might give it another shot though.
As a filmmaker whenever I read something I'm hoping that it'll inspire me in my own writing, or perhaps be a project for me down the line. I can't imagine I'd be in position enough to do something of Gaiman's, but if I was ever to make a big film, this is the kind I'd want. It's smart, fun, but it's full of real human emotion. It's a lovely piece of writing. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world, Mr. Gaiman, I'm not sure what we can do to repay you.
So needless to say, buy this book. Now.