American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $14.17 You Save: $12.82 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.10 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of American Gods: A Novel
Book Review: A captivating story!
Summary: 4 Stars
Shadow is released from prison early after receiving some sad news. On his way home from prison, he is followed by a man whom he can't seem to shake. When this man, who refers to himself as "Wednesday", begins to appears uncannily at all places that Shadow travels, Shadow's interest in him him becomes more acute to the point that he finally agrees to take a job with him. Shadow is not entirely certain of what his job entails, though.This story walks a delicate line between reality and fantasy, incorporating characters who may, at first glance, seem normal but are not. In addition, there are many dreams that Shadow experiences that also make it hard to distinguish between fact and fiction in his life. Shadow, however, is a likeable fellow and one with whom the reader sympathizes and wishes well. It is for this reason that this novel succeeds so well. For every difficulty that Shadow faces, the reader is left hoping he'll make it through his bizarre experiences unharmed.
Book Review: A case where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole, but still a good read
Summary: 4 Stars
After hearing about American Gods for a while, I finally got around to reading it. I am a great admirer of Gaiman's work (Sandman, Neverwhere, Good Omens, etc), but while I found American Gods an enjoyable read, in the end I felt somewhat dissatisfied. The scale of the basic premise - that all of the people who came to America brought their gods with them -- is awesome and intriguing. And his treatment of what became of those gods is engaging; it's a rare book indeed when one finds oneself pitying forgotten gods who've been reduced to things like running petty scams and driving cabs to get by. I particularly liked the chain-smoking Russian god Chernobog resorting to playing checkers in order to get sacrificial victims. And the Egyptian gods of the dead Anubis, Thoth and Bast who -- of course! -- end up running a funeral home in Cairo, Illinois.
But while I enjoyed the individual characters and sympathized with their personal dramas, in the end, I felt like the novel never quite reached its potential. I think that part of this was due to the "new" gods - avatars apparently of the media, the internet, etc - coming off as rather vague sketches rather than compellingly fleshed-out characters as the "old" gods were. And part of it was due to the central character, Shadow, being somewhat vague himself, neither fish nor fowl as they say. His personal dramas were frequently moving, particularly the scenes with his dead-yet-not-quite-dead wife Laura, but his role in the overall gods plot was never really clear or convincing, and his actions in the climactic scene felt more plot-forced than truly natural. Shadow's obsession with sleight-of-hand coin tricks was actually far more interesting than his seeming function in the grand scheme that is supposed to be at the novel's center.
But don't get me wrong. American Gods is a definite good read, if only for the ideas presented, the characters you meet, and the highly visual road-trips taken where you get to discover things delightfully Americana from The House On The Rock to the world's largest merry-go-round. If you like fantasy that stretches the frontiers while acknowledging the past and brings the fantastic back into our current-day lives, then this definitely qualifies.
Book Review: A contemporary fantasy with sophistication and style
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one wonderful read. From beginning to end, Gaiman hooks the reader with humor, history, fascinating little side trips on the road to the heart of America. From the bar fight with a leprechaun and the beginning to the pagan crucifixion at the end, the book is wrought with stylish images, keen imagination and a look into the soul of a country of blended immigrant cultures.What a wild ride!
Book Review: A contender in many rings, for many reasons
Summary: 5 Stars
Where to start, is the pressing question.The mythology is superb. I'd recommend this novel most to someone with some versing in the classics and folklore, some basic ability to play a rousing good game of Spot the God. One of the coolest little moments was discovering that Mr. Wednesday had a glass eye ...
You can see echoes in American Gods of a grand hero tale, an epic journey to an 'Other World', and you can see the grubby corners and edgy soul of a great American road novel. Not Kerouac or Nabokov; Gaiman grasps his own voice, and with success. It feels natural to have yellowing motels, small towns & trailer parks alongside ancient deities, divine trickery, and a grand battle. (Though I feel rather shortchanged in the way Gaiman concluded the whole climactic god-battle scene. It's more a book about the journey than the destination, one supposes.)
Having read some of his previous work, I think that with this novel he has reached this point where his curious, sharp prose, peculiar and rich bits of humor, and breezes of mortal insight come to a balance even more fruitful than his other material.
No wonder I finished this in less than two days. Even Harlan Ellison liked it.
Read Smoke & Mirrors, his short fiction collection, and if you enjoyed it, then eat this up with ... /divine/ pleasure.
Book Review: A dark and beautiful tale of devotion
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a brilliantly dark and moving tale of love and devotion. The central idea is that gods who are worshipped as ominoptent actually need the belief of their followers to survive. When mankind immigrated to America (and Gaimon speculates that there has been a thriving ancient trade and immigration in America long before recorded history), they brought their belief in their Old World gods along with their hopes and dreams. America is a difficult land for gods, however, as their followers rapidly assimmilate into mainstream America. Money and technology are what many modern Americans worship, and old gods are now threatened by new gods- Internet, Media, Automobiles, and Credit. The old gods, who have degenerated into mundane careers like supermarket clerks and funeral home directors, must now fight for their survival.
This is where a young American named Shadow Moon comes into the tale. Shadow is co-opted into the divine struggle when he meets an elderly con artist named Mr. Wednesday who seems to know too much about Shadow's life. Wednesday offers him a well paying, dangerous job, which Shadow takes, believing he has no future. A reformed prison convict, Shadow was looking forward to a new start. Days before his release, Shadow's beloved wife, Laura, dies in a car accident under very unexpected circumstances. Shadow soon finds out that his employer is the American incarnation of the Norse god, Odin. Odin and Shadow embark on a bizarre road trip across America, encouraging a very interesting group of displaced "American Gods" to unite. Through the story Shadow, Odin and their allies are pursued by destructive modern gods.
Shadow also repeatedly encounters the reanimated corpse of Laura. What could be a macabre ghost story instead turns sadly touching as Shadow and Laura try to deal with what happened and come to closure.
The story has an amazing plot twist, though Gaimon gives several clues to what will happen. I liked the characterizations- even minor characters have depth and believability. For example, Odin is not entirely a grim god. He has a sense of humor and chases (often successfully) after Nordic girls. Laura turns out having a pivotal role in the story. Shadow, however, is the most complex character. Initially he seems like the big and stupid, strong and silent type. He is actually very intelligent, perceptive and compassionate. As the story develops, he realizes he has more power and courage inside of him than he ever realized.
Mr. Gaimon's views of the oddities and charms of American small towns and roadside attractions are very accurate. I also enjoy that Mr. Gaimon focused mainly on the rural Midwest, Great Plains and the South, including a Wisconsin town spookily like the one where I went to college (which had a contest with a car on a frozen lake). The Interludes showing how various immigrants brought their belief in Old World gods and magical beings to America are also intriguing (I especially like the idea that Vikings discovered America some 200 years before Leifur Eiriksson).
I agree in theory with the comments that this book would make a smashing film, especially if Mr. Gaimon could write the script and you had a director who could present American culture with Mr. Gaimon's affectionately quirky view. My one fear would be that the film would focus too much on the macabre aspects of the book instead of on the compassion and dignity that underlies these macabre scenes.
All in all, a very beautiful book and, honestly, one of the bestI read this year.