[Book] Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman ㅡ Adventure Starts Here and Now

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What should you do if you want some adventure? Should you go to the exotic country where you can't even speak their language? Or should you go backpacking around the world for a year after quitting your job? That could do. But sometimes adventure starts here and now without your recognizing it. A small, innocent act of yours can snare you into the adventure. Just like Richard in this book.

The hero of Neverwhere Richard is an ordinary man living in London. He has a small apartment to go to at the end of the day, a solid job, and a beautiful fiancee. Everyday is just the same. It can be boring sometimes, but you can't ask for more in these busy world.

Then one night, Richard found a girl bleeding at the corner of the street. Feeling sympathized, he brought her home, treated her wound and made her rest in his apartment. (He cound't get her to the hospital because she refused it vehemently.) The next day, she said goodbye and left, but now something weird started to happen to Richard.

People treated him as if he were invisible. Or did he really become invisible? He couldn't even hail the taxi. When he finally got to the company, his desk was nowhere to be found as if he had never worked there. Even his fiancee didn't recognize him. On top of that, a real estate agent tried to lent his apartment to others, saying it was an empty lot!

Richard started to miss his old, everyday life. That boring, and wonderful life.

I'm going to go home. Everything is going to be normal again. Boring again. Wonderful again.

When realizing this all started after he helped that bleeding girl, Richard decided to find her. But he didn't know where she lived. All he knew was her name: Door. Now in search of her disappearing traces, Richard went into the Underworld of London - where dangerous villans, monsters and an Angel lived in.

Source: Goodreads

I like this story mostly because it was an adventure story of an ordinary adult. Most adventure stories are restricted to certain times and places like Middle Earth or Neverland. Or they're only allowed to children. But in this story, the one who got mired into the adventure was an ordinary adult. Almost as if you could start your own adventure at the next corner, too.

Since most of the adventure took place in Underworld, many subway stations in London appeared in this book and they played certain roles. In Earl's Court station, there really was an Earl. In Black Friars station, you could meet Friars. And Angel station? Yes, an Angel lived there. Needless to say, if you're familiar with London subways, you can enjoy this novel much better.

This book feels like modern Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. If you like fantasy adventure books with a grown-up hero, I'd like to recommend it.

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Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Note: Initially was BBC TV series, and later made into a novel. BBC radio drama was made based on this, too, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy.