American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of American Gods: A Novel
Book Review: Ambiguous Journey is Compelling
Summary: 5 Stars
You need to appreciate a bit of ambiguity in your fiction to really enjoy this book. Aspects are slowly revealed. Some of the side stories tie in directly but others only add flavor. Even the key moments are not delivered in a dramatic fashion. So there's a bit of a dream-like feel to it, but that's appropriate to the storyline. Everything is not wrapped up tidily at the end, although there is a closure. A bit like life.
I loved the basic concepts of gods being defined by our belief in them and our sacrifices to them and what happens, what could happen, when belief changes or shifts to other things. It was easy to become invested in the main character and his journey was well worth reading about.
Book Review: Ambitious Start, ultimately Hollow
Summary: 2 Stars
Book starts great with an ambitious idea, but then due to poor plotting and character development, the novel fails. There is some brilliant writing, but the intellectual ideas are shallow at best, and the main character is an emotional flat-line who is just along for the ride.
No one cares what happens to any of the characters, and because the rules of physics (life/death) do not apply when dealing with gods, there is no sense of danger. The book lacks a sense of inevitability and there is not much pulling the reader along, except the hope that things will get better.
Some of the subplots like the bank robbery and disappearing kids were good reading. The coming to america vignettes were really well written and interesting, but disrupted the flow of the story. THe main plot, was absolutely the weakest.
This book started strong and I was compelled to continue reading only to be disappointed. Weak middle. Weak end. D&D/comic fanboys will think its cool, but it has serious flaws. Really surprised this was an award winner.
Book Review: American Gods
Summary: 5 Stars
American Gods was the first book I read by Neil Gaiman. I absolutely loved this book. When I started reading it I got the sense that I had stumbled onto a new favorite author. The level of skillful fantasy writing in this book is unreal, Neil has a gift for making the otherworldly come to life. Read this book if you haven't, you'll be glad that you did.Book Review: American Gods
Summary: 3 Stars
So far, I'm loving it. Hence the five stars. I especially like the story of Essie Tregowan. Gaiman is a fantastic story teller and I have come to the conclusion over the past few books I've read that it is the great storytellers, not the most verbose authors, who are best remembered. That is why The Alchemist has sold millions of copies and is one of the world's most beloved stories. And mine! I believe American Gods will be one of those.
Several days later.....
Well, I have finished reading American Gods, finally!! It felt like the story would just never end and if one is anxious for the story to be over so he can get on to the next one, then the book can't have been all that good.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this novel of gods and men, it was just too tedious at times and a tad bit boring. And I thoroughly enjoy the subject of religion, so this should have been a dead ringer for me, but it wasn't.
As I said earlier, I loved the story of Essie Tregowan but after her story, I kept waiting for more like it and it just never came.
I love it when a novel is able to incorporate a lesson or when you are able to learn something from reading it. I believe that is one of the best ways to learn, when you don't even realize that is what you are doing because you are having such a good time. Entertainment can be educational as well.
The entire premise of this book though was that America, being a land of immigrants, in point of fact even for the Native Americans, that America's peoples brought their old Gods from the old lands with them and that over time when the old gods are forgotten, they die. Ok, that is not anything really groundbreaking, it's common sense really. The attempt to turn this premise into a story of the old gods wanting to fight a war with the new Gods for their very survival and incorporating the twist in the end whereby it was not really a war after all, but a bloodbath, just seemed kind of silly to me. The entire idea of the old Gods living human lives just seemed trite and boring. I like at least a semblance of reality in my fiction.
I didn't hate this novel, I was just greatly disappointed because I feel it had such great potential.
In a literary sense it also began to grate on my nerves how Gaiman just could not seem to describe a scene or a character without using the word gray. "The sky was gray." "His eyes were charcoal gray." "The rocks were gray!" I have heard such great things about Neil Gaiman and really enjoyed his short story collection, "Smoke and Mirrors" so I KNOW he has more creativity than this.
Book Review: American Gods
Summary: 5 Stars
This book/author is amazing!! He weaves an intricate, spooky, thought provoking page-turner unlike anyone else I've ever read. I'm hooked. I'm now reading "Fragile Things".