posted on 04 Sep 2016

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell

There are some very special books that will stay with you forever and I think that this will be one of them. It was originally written as six thirty minute episodes of a TV drama in 1996 but I don't remember seeing it when it was aired. Neil Gaiman explains that the original idea for the story came from his friend, Lenny Henry, who suggested that he should write something inspired by the alarming increase of visibly homeless people on the streets of London. Gaiman was not entirely happy with the television production which he felt lacked the necessary imaginative scope and started to write a novel alongside working on the scripts.

It was first published by the BBC and then in a substantially revised version by Avon Books, an American publishing house. This 2016 version combines the original two texts plus more and is made more memorable because he invited Chris Riddell to illustrate it. And so this talented partnership combined to work on a stunning work of art that also tells a compelling story about the worth of all humans, including those homeless people who have fallen on difficult times. 

The central Everyman character is Richard Mayhew, named by Gaiman after Henry Mayhew, author of London Labour and the London Poor. He is a dissatisfied middle aged man who has similarities with Douglas Adams' Arthur Dent in his personality. His job is tedious and he is locked in a relationship with a beautiful but self centred woman, Jessica, who fails to recognise his potential. His key life changing moment happens when, unlike his girlfriend, he takes pity on an apparently injured and very dirty girl lying in the street who soon leads him to see the world very differently.

Her name is Door and when he agrees to be her travelling companion, he discovers that she has the ability to open portals between his familiar world and the much darker, dangerous world that exists beneath London. They begin a perilous adventure together during which he learns many lessons including the importance of being gracious to rats; that surface appearances rarely relate to what lies beneath; and, that absolutely no one is to be trusted. He also learns his own worth, develops confidence and aquires some very useful skills along the way. 

Gaiman's imagination is always extraordinary and this time his sublime writing paints such a vivid, convincing picture that, once experienced, I guarantee that you will never see the city in quite the same way again. Instead, when travelling on the London Underground you will see the sign for The Angel Islington and immediately be reminded of the cruel , megalomaniac creature who bears that name in Neverwhere. When you see a sign for Blackfriars, you will feel a chill as you remember the terrifying experience of the travellers crossing the precarious Knightsbridge overseen by the gloomy and sinister monks in the story. Shepherds actually live at Shepherds Bush and rumours of abandoned railway stations are still in use in London below so be very careful.

All the major characters are memorable because they are so keenly described in prose and then given further definition by Riddell's  intricate black and white illustrations that are woven throughout the text. For instance, who would not be appalled by the Dickensian like rogues, Croup and Vandemar who relentlessly hunt their prey above and below the streets and then take sadistic pleasure inflicting painful torture. Who would not be forever haunted by the pale but gorgeous Velvets, vampire like women who lurk around the edges of London waiting to suck the life from their victims? And what about the flamboyant but very tough Marquis of Carabas whose wise advice is sought throughout the story? 

This is a delicious magical book and I have struggled to do a review that gives a true flavour of its many rich layers. In the introduction to this version Gaiman suggests that he hopes to return to the world of Neverwhere at some point. I do hope so but meanwhile enjoy this witty and reflective fantasy with some roots in contemporary social realism. But it is the stuff of nightmares so relish it at your peril.

 

Karen Argent

September 2016