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What are readers saying about American Gods A Novel?
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-12 12:06:56.
(Language: English)
 
had previously read the collection of his short stories called Fragile Things and his elementary/young adult novel The Graveyard Book - both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Sadly, I did not enjoy American Gods to the same extent. Neil Gaiman does have a very creative mind and there are several scenes, characters, and details which I liked. The living characters he created out of gods felt real enough and quirky enough to be interesting, and the entire premise that gods from other lands traveled to America in the minds and hearts of immigrants caught my attention. I think my favorite chapters were the back-stories on particular gods. I also identified with the idea that America is a mish-mash of old and new beliefs and that it is a little sad that old gods must die off slowly as they are forgotten by the people. These things did not ultimately result in a wholly interesting novel. There were two obstacles to my liking the novel: 1) it meandered too much, jutting off in tangents as it tried to pull in too many themes and back-stories and metaphysical theories, and 2) the climax and conclusion were not satisfying. I felt no resolution. All I felt was that I had been tricked into following a story that wasn't the real story in the first place. To sum up my opinion, I'll hail Neil Gaiman any day for the peculiar turn of his sentences and his creative, fantastical landscapes, but when it comes to crafting grand statements about important worldly themes, he falls short for trying to tackle too much at once. 
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-05 04:54:24.
(Language: English)
An entertaining tale, creatively told, with a great premise, I felt a little underwhelmed by the end. Part of that is definitely the hype effect as I'd heard so much about Neil Gaiman being this amazing writer that it was next to impossible for him to blow me away. The stakes were too high for that.The book does suffer from a bit of self-indulgence as Gaiman throws everything he can into the 588-page...epic? Road trip? Love story? That's another part of the problem. The book is ostensibly one man's story being told against the backdrop of some rather grandiose events, but at times it feels like it's actually a patchwork of random short stories that couldn't quite stand on their own. And the ending falls somewhere between cheap bait-and-switch and outright letdown. Getting there is fun, though, not unlike a two-week relationship full of good sex, drunken philosophizing and a clean, no-strings-attached parting of ways, self-respect still intact. I'd hesistantly recommend it for those looking for something - different? - but with a hearty caveat emptor.
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Ying posted a review at 2010-06-24 09:55:39.
(Language: English)
A interesting interpretation of the lives of several immortals, Gods, faerie and legendary heroes once they have moved to the US in the minds and hearts of people, then been forgotten. Gaiman explores mythology from all continents to add a diverse mix of characters to an end with a few surprises. His character, Shadow is newly released from prison after three years only to find a strange man calling himself Mr. Wednesday. Wednesday offers Shadow employment as part body guard, driver and assistant on jobs of questionable legality. Though skeptical, Shadow accepts Mr. Wednesday's proposal. Each day becomes a new adventure as Shadow confronts people and places that he never thought existed. Gods, demons, heroes and dwarves are met with wonder as Wednesday redefines Shadow's perception of reality and truth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-08 07:35:31.
(Language: English)
I literally could not put this book down. Though familiar with Gaimans' work on Sandman, I had never read any of his books before. I can't help but think that I may have read his best work first. American Gods is a sprawling adventure that uses folk lore for a variety of countries. Expertly plotted and compelling throughout, the story though complex is rarely overly confusing unless it is intentional. Moments of revelation for the main character are equally exciting for the reader. There are several big twists at the end so even if you have managed to work out one, there will always be another surprise. Gaiman manages to blend fantasy and reality so well, there is no doubt in your mind as to the existence of even the most fantastical of characters. There are moments that are sad, disturbing and even horrifying but these are well balanced by a sharp, black humor throughout. Possibly the best book I've read in years.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-19 08:38:11.
(Language: English)
This book is based on an assumption: a God is what people worship. The more a God is worshiped, the more he is powerful; and if people change their faith, that this God becomes a powerless entity. Nowadays, the old germanic, celtic, greek, egyptian gods - highly considered in the ancient times - walk in the streets of U.S., working hardly like any person in order to survive, being surrounded by people who do not recognize them and who worship new shiny gods, symbols of the contemporary age. Is in this contest that the old Wotan decides to move war to the new Gods in order to regain that power that used to be his.As many of the books of Gaiman, this is a contemporary fairy tale, in which the language of the myth is intermingled with the dirty speech of TV-series and soap operas. The plot is quite intriguing, especially towards the end where the more suggestive events happen and all the dirty schemes of the characters are revealed. However, the book becomes a bit slow during the middle part in which Gaiman spends many and many pages reporting the everyday life of a middle-america town. Moreover, the book is very thorough in describing each of the ancient God the main character encounters, but is quite poor in providing the reader of a clear picture about what the new Gods are... yes we know that there is the God of TV, the God of internet, the God of the Ferrari, the God of some Drug (though this should be an ancient God), etc., but the author gives us a vague blueprint of them. The description of the main character, Shadow, is quite vague as well. This is a real pity because, considering all the events that happen to him (for instance, discovering to be the son of one the most ancient Gods, being hanged up naked to death and, as a post-modern Christ, resurrecting 3 days after with the help of the celtic Goddess of Easter), Gaiman had the chance to create a very intriguing character.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-07 05:47:35.
(Language: English)
Okay this book probably deserves a four, but I'm giving it a three because the first half of the book didn't compel me in comparison to Neil's other masterpieces. In other, more cliche, terms, it wasn't my cup of tea. However, I spent most of today (the day I'm essentially writing this quick review) reading the last 350 pages of the book, which really picked up. I was profoundly pleased that it did indeed picked up considering I am going to see Neil the day after writing this review for a readin...more Okay this book probably deserves a four, but I'm giving it a three because the first half of the book didn't compel me in comparison to Neil's other masterpieces. In other, more cliche, terms, it wasn't my cup of tea. However, I spent most of today (the day I'm essentially writing this quick review) reading the last 350 pages of the book, which really picked up. I was profoundly pleased that it did indeed picked up considering I am going to see Neil the day after writing this review for a reading his new book, The Graveyard Book, which I've already listened to the first 4 chapters online from his previous readings this week. But moving on to American Gods itself, it has it moments, and I most certainly will pick up a copy of Fragile things and Anansi Boys (both of which should be read after AG), as soon as possible. However, American Gods was no Neverwhere or Stardust, though feel free to disagree as many do and have pointed out to me several times. Neil Gaiman produces enough to apply to several different readers
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-25 04:54:26.
(Language: English)
Reading other people's reviews, this seems to be a love it or hate it book. I can see how, for those who don't find the many supernatural characters interesting, American Gods could seem long and boring. For myself, I thought it was the best book I had read all year. Shadow, the protagonist, is a man who although physically imposing, has the most low key character imaginable. This puts him in a unique position to relay to the reader, through his own experiences, the events in this story, from the wildly supernatural to the incredibly mundane. And both of these extremes exist in American Gods, for sure. But Gaiman's writing is so real that even the mundane, such as a quaint little Wisconsin town in winter, comes vividly to life in a way that makes it interesting. His characters are real, even the gods, who seem far more human than superhuman - which is apropos for the tale the author tells. Although 600 pages in length, this book felt shorter than many 250-pagers I've read recently. The momentum is nearly constant from beginning to end, and the settings and characters unforgettable. I would recommend this to almost anyone. You'll never believe that the out-of-the-way corners of America could be so interesting!
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Λευτέρης posted a review at 2010-07-27 12:28:00.
(Language: English)
This is the "Author's preferred text", which is longer and with several corrections. This book is, more than anything else, a novel about discovering America. The fantasy premise of an upcoming war between the old gods (who immigrants carried to America through the centuries) and the modern ones (of gadgets, TV and such) is less important. This was a disappointment for me, as it was not the kind of book I was interested in. Another problem was that, for the best part of the book, the main character lacks any interest in whether he will survive the next day, so I found it difficult to care, too. Of course, I am speaking relatively. It's a good book, but having just completed Sandman's 10 graphic novels for the 4th time, I found much less of Neil's magic in this one. My favorite part: Sam's "I believe" rant.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-16 09:49:30.
(Language: English)
American Gods is the kind of book that would be perfect for a long airplane ride, the beach, a stay in the hospital, etc. Neil Gaiman is a marvelous storyteller and weaves a fantastic tale here involving an American mythology of sorts - a war involving the gods that American immigrants brought with them vs. the gods that contemporary Americans have created. It's a compelling story and well told but unfortunately American Gods feels a bit empty once you put it down. The novel comes close to exploring some of the ideas it raises, but fails to do so as it seems uninterested in rising above its fantasy-for-the-masses station. As well, while Mr. Gaiman is a gifted storyteller, his prose and dialog are pedestrian at best. He is good at creating vivid characters, but oddly enough the main character in the novel, Shadow, is flat, lifeless and the book's least interesting character. These are somewhat minor criticisms, however. The real reason to read this is for the awesome mythology it creates and the story it weaves. If you read books for these reasons, order away. If you're more concerned about character, stylish prose and having a better understanding of the world or human condition when you put down a book, save this for the layover in Minneapolis.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-24 01:34:55.
(Language: English)
Okay. I give Gaiman credit for such a long and... probably well studied book. It was a fairly interesting theme for a book. However, I thought it was executed poorly. He used all these really good elements to make you excited; heck, any form of magic or paranormal activity tends to get a reader interested. But there were parts of the book that just felt... rushed. Parts that, rather than make it more of an epic book, he just had to hurry along cause the book was already bordering 600 pages. For instance. In Lakeside, where Shadow meets the cop. We don't see any time where they are apart on their initial visit, and yet the cop "made a few calls" in the bathroom that had a phone in it? Or parts where he had to keep you on edge, so rather than delve, he just... dismisses a natural acceptance of information for the main character. Such as Wednesday telling Shadow something important, and Gaiman, rather than releasing information, just says, "Shadow went blank" for a moment and didn't catch what Wednesday said. I felt like that was the entire book. Just a lot of situations that tried to keep you "on the edge of your seat." But for me, it just made me annoyed. Just get on with it already. Meh.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-22 07:27:46.
(Language: English)
The idea behind the story is simple enough: Gods exist because we — people — believe in them. When Europeans began migrating westward, they brought their gods with them to America; when Africans were transported to this continent, they brought their gods with them. So, for a long time, America didn't have its own gods, just borrowed deities from the old countries. After years and generations past, however, the old gods were replaced. As people's faith in the gods of old faded, so did the gods themselves. Native-born Americans developed their own beliefs, which created shiny new gods — "new gods of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon." For some reason, I assumed Gaiman would spend most of his time building up the new generation of gods, preparing them to take over where the old gods left off. After all, the old gods were Big Important Dudes in their home countries, but in America they were small potatoes. It didn't take long to realize Gaiman fleshed out the old gods much better, though. He gave them more interesting back stories, made them stronger and smarter, more well-defined. But that fits. After all, the old gods had been around long enough to build up reputations and carve out their niche in mankind's faith market. They're used to each other, and the hierarchy of most powerful to most pesky has been established for centuries. By comparison, the new gods seem juvenile and superficial. And then there's Shadow. Our narrator is aptly named. Much like staring at your own shadow, the basic outline of the character is there, but the details — how far apart are his eyes set? Does he have any scars? Do dimples flash when he smiles? Does he smile? — are all missing. As the readers' tour guide, he is an objective reporter, stating exactly what happened, how it happened, and occasionally why. But how do these events make him feel? What are his own reactions to what, how, and why? He doesn't say. Shadow is definitely one of the most distant and private main characters I've ever come across. I thoroughly enjoy Gaiman's writing style and humor - and both really shine in this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-25 03:32:59.
(Language: English)
i am a big fan of neil gaiman and his graphic novel the sandman, and so i gave this novel a read. i found it to be engrossing and well written. shadow makes a good protagonist; as someone who doesn't develop a whole lot a character, someone who must use alternate identities regularly and finds his own redefined eventually, he is a good vantage point from which to observe the events of the novel, which is a panorama of modern society and a reflection of human nature as much as it is a fantasy story about new and old gods warring in the most powerful nation of modern times. the personification of modern advances into new gods makes for a good metaphor of the culture clash between old and new, the attempts by people to retain tradition and/or phase out the obsolete; in having a war (of sorts, of course) they act out the nature of people to resolve things through conflict, before shadow steps in of course, his role realised. the gods, defined quite specifically many times as ideas, are diverse and interesting beings, and although the dialogue and writing style isn't particularly eloquent or definitive stylistically, i found it to be catchy and easy to follow, and it flowed well. the details he picks up on may be convoluted at times but add to the narrative and give it depth, and immerse the reader into shadows perspective of it all. another thing i picked up on was the way every character mentioned and every scene had some importance to the story. this gave it a providential theme, considering what shadow actually is, and is something that gaiman does in the sandman as well. it was satisfying to see how and why the klunker competition was relevant at the end, for example. in conclusion, while it may not be the best novel of the modern age, it is all the same a long and enjoyable read, that has enough thematic depth and interesting characters and well developed and exposed plot to give the reader (me) a thoroughly satisfying experience. bare in mind, however, that a familiarity with many of the characters from my prior reading of the sandman helped a little. still, i recommend this
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-26 06:22:28.
(Language: English)
I picked this up because I really liked the film “Stardust”. It turned out to be more in the style of Clive Barker, though, wildly imaginative, with a touch of horror and supernatural. But in the end somehow, it didn’t click for me. You can read most of the story on other posts, but quickly, Shadow, the hero, is released early from prison to attend his wife’s funeral and falls into a an encounter that leads to many more of the same. He meets a man called Wednesday, the first of many odd people he will encounter throughout the book. Without giving away too much, consider that “Wednesday” is named after Wodin, the king of the Norse gods. Eventually we realize that Wednesday is in fact the modern personification of Wodin (or Odin), whose incorporation in American as an “American God” is made possible by the immigrants who brought him here in their thoughts. Now of course, we can realize that lots of other “American” gods are here too: Russian gods, more Norse gods, African, Caribbean gods, in fact every kind of old god that could be brought to the USA in people’s minds. In fact we learn that gods really only die when they are forgotten. And therein lies the problem. The old gods are being forgotten, replaced by the home-grown, modern gods of the shopping mall, video game and computer. A war is brewing between the two sides, the old and the new. Shadow is taken on a long pilgrimage by Wednesday, as he meets many of the old gods and some of the new. So far so good. The books starts well with release of Shadow from prison and then gets seriously weird, but once the reader understands the concept of American gods, the story picks up again. Shadow even has time to solve a series of murders committed by another god. It is an unusual and unique concept, but in the end, the final battle somehow is an anticlimax. The author doesn’t rally pull it off, and I was left feeling a bit let down. So a really good idea, but missing something, in my opinion.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-12 06:27:22.
(Language: English)
Although the prose and the story are satisfying, for it flows and connects together, the plot (or plight) of the gods involved in a survival of the fittest romp was not only unbelievable, but it was unbelievable just how the gods could buy into this battle, go into an agreement to war, and then walk away from it all by a few somber words over the futility of it all by one Mr. Shadow, the protagonist. The hero, though over-the-top in symbolism, was sort of true and proceeded in a very self-reflective manner over his life and dreams, though much of Shadow's story was left to an authorial narrator, which I tend to shy away from in my reads these days. Also, the early beginnings that brought the gods to the New World were very moving; I especially loved the tales about Agusu and and Wututu (Chapter 8) and this is why this novel has two stars in my book. Maybe I can't get Julio Cortazar's Hopscotch out of my head, but I am seeking something more mystique in the everyday, something genuinely searching with an autopoetical lens, or something that American Gods just cannot come far away enough from to deliver to me, here and now. If only Gaiman would have spent more of his prose to take us beyond the plot and tertiary explanations on why this superstitious rot makes sense, I wouldn't have challenge the believability of the story. Only the gods know, I guess.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-18 11:42:03.
(Language: English)
Bizarre and surreal, this Neil Gaiman book is not for children! In this fantasy novel, Gaiman develops the idea that settlers to North America from as far back as 15,000 years have brought their indigenous gods with them, and they are still with us and among us today. Their power is seriously diminished as new gods of "shopping", "drugs", and the "internet" have supplanted deities such as Odin. When the old gods and new gods prepare themselves for a battle for survival, unwitting civilians are among the casualties. One of life's losers, a man called Shadow, is reluctantly pulled into the fight of the gods, and finds himself somewhat worse for the wear. Fortunately, it helps to have friends in high places, and Shadow will need all the friends he can get.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-06 06:00:28.
(Language: English)
I don’t think anyone’s precisely supposed to be entirely sure of what happens in this book. It’s the territory for gods and as Shadow explains, they’re playing by rules you don’t know but just accept. Because they’re gods.The ending left me feeling rather skeptical. You can suspend belief about the existence of gods serving convenience stores, running cheap (and grand) scams, cooking bad stuffed cabbage, and being as petty and plain and harried as mere mortals. But solving a problem boiling for the entire book with a (well versed, heart-felt, compelling) speech didn’t feel quite right. But what an adventure. What a journey looking into the thick culture of underground, soon to be forgotten gods, what a presentation of all manner of celestial beings old and new in flesh. What a way of reshaping how one looks at an inexplicably popular roadside attraction. It’s a world that, despite the cutthroat, unglamorous, resentful, aging sides being shown, that you want to believe in.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-06 04:44:26.
(Language: English)
I was a little disappointed with this book. It seemed to me like Gaiman tried to work too many ideas into one story. There are a lot of neat concepts (for example, the idea of roadside attractions being places of power) that are introduced but, in my opinion, don't get fully explored. Even at nearly 600 pages, it doesn't feel quite like Gaiman got to tell the whole story he wanted to tell. The "twists" in the book were also a bit too telegraphed. There are basically four--a main character twist, a plot twist, a supporting character twist, and a mystery. The supporting character twist and the plot twist are handled relatively well. You can tell they're coming up, but I didn't figure out the details until I was supposed to (I think). The main character twist and the mystery, on the other hand, were REALLY obvious. He basically comes right out and tells you "this is the main character's big secret," if you know what you're looking for. The two clues you need to solve the mystery are within a page of each other almost as soon as the mystery is introduced, which makes the connection a bit too easy. To be fair, both of these twists were of the magical/metaphorical variety, so there's a good chance that people who don't read too many Tim Powers and Alan Moore books might not notice them as easily as I did. In spite of these problems, Amercian Gods is a very good book. While none of the characters are outstanding, for the most part they're well-written. The basic plot and writing are what you expect from Gaiman. As I said before, there are a lot of interesting ideas introduced, though some of them don't get as much space as they really need. The thing that most impressed me about the book is how Neil managed to capture the feel of Cairo, Illinois--a town I grew up within a few miles of. Gaimain perfectly communicated the kind of desperate, desolate feel of the town. I can only assume that he did an equally good job on the other locations featured in the book (I can't say, since I haven't been to most of them--though I've been told his description of Rock City is flawless as well). Overall, American Gods is a good read, and I recommend it. While it didn't quite live up to my expectations based on Gaimain's previous work, I suspect it's still much better than at least 95% of the modern-day fantasy genre.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-03 12:40:42.
(Language: English)
First things first, Neil Gaiman’s imaginative novel is a great read. I loved this book. Shrouded in mystery and steeped in a richly researched mythological world, Gaiman’s expertly crafted postmodern odyssey is unrelentingly clever, surprising, and ultimately wise. Gaiman is a master writer, savvy enough to know when to break the rules and when to revel in classic archetypes and narrative modes. The result is a haunting epic journey through a strangely defamiliarized American landscape. Released from prison, Shadow is confronted with a world he no longer recognizes and so serves as an ideal protagonist within Gaiman’s otherworldly America. Beneath the surface of ordinary, recognizable America pulses a supernatural, although sometimes forgotten, history and a powerful inheritance of myth and magic. The mysterious Mr. Wednesday brings Shadow deeper into this secret world beneath the modern mechanization of American culture and ultimately provides the setting for hard-fought personal and epic redemption. I loved this book. Really. Read it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-04 08:57:59.
(Language: English)
The old gods of the old pantheons face of against the new gods in AMerica and our hero, Shadow, is stuck in the middle. It's Odin vs. the Internet in a battle cosmic. The idea is that not only people migrated to America, but the gods they worshipped got shipped over to. Once here they were abandoned and no one paid attention to them any more. The new gods of America are the personifcation of the internet, cars, airplanes and TV. SHadow our hero get released from jail and gets dragged into a showdow between the two sides. Gaimen writing always make my brain feel liked it was used in a different way. His lead characters are always fun and sympathetic, but his supporting characters make you feel violated at times. They are vulger, profane and some time likeable. The world they exist in seems just slightly out of joint with the real world. Close but like a nyguil dream. There are some parts that are offencive. If I was a muslim I would have been really bothered by one part. There was some talk about Jesus that a christian would find wrong. But, if your prepared for that you can skip it and loss nothing. It's a great read and a imagrents view of America. An imagrent god that is.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-11 09:50:57.
(Language: English)
Last Week or so, I bought two books. First was “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. Now, I’ve read a lot by him. His “Sandman” comic book series. “Neverwhere” an eerie fantasy novel that takes place in modern London, “Graveyard”, which won the Newberry Prise (best American Children’s novel of the year) and “Anansi Boys”, which is about a character that my father (and my Caribbean culture) talk about a lot. My dad used to tell Anansi stories all the time. They were a staple of my childhood. And I actually thought this white English man just “stole” the name – but no, it is really about Anansi and then some. Loved this book! But “American Gods”… “American Gods” is the book we all wish we could write. It’s perfect. That’s right, I said it. Perfect. It is the perfect story. Not Cormac McCarthy in writing. But a story – a real, true story – that you can imagine a griot telling villages for years and years and generations and generations to come. Love does not begin to describe how this book…is. I definitely saved the best for last!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-07 07:11:45.
(Language: English)
The gods of the Old World--transplanted to North America by successive waves of inhabitants over the centuries--are being targeted for extinction by the "new gods" of American consumerism and technology. Shadow, a lost and godless man recently released from prison, finds himself at the center of the coming storm when a mysterious stranger recruits him for a mission taking him across the American heartland, a familiar landscape that Shadow soon discovers conceals an underworld where leprechauns and love goddesses and assorted characters from the pantheons of Greek and Norse and Celtic mythology wallow in obscurity, forgotten by the people who brought them over. This is a brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed tale of the enduring hope for redemption that lays at the very heart of belief.
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Dan posted a review at 2009-09-12 07:44:02.
(Language: English)
This book -- my first encounter with Neil Gaiman -- was a bit better than okay. Damning with faint praise, I know, but I came away feeling that I had consumed a lot of empty calories. Yes it was engrossing -- Gaiman knows how to draw a reader in and keep him there -- but it proved to be 500 pages of setup, with about three pages of resolution that had been signaled in big glowing letters throughout the book. I found the payoff unsatisfying. The central concept -- all of the Gods that have roamed through cultures throughout the world have wound up in America leading fairly run-of-the-mill lives -- had promise, but I found myself wanting Gaiman to deliver more form this idea. Ultimately the characters were colorful, but very two-dimensional. All in all, it was a comic book without the pictures which, given the author, makes perfect sense, I suppose.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-06-19 12:33:21.
(Language: English)
A man named Shadow is released from prison only to find out his wife is dead. But when Shadow meets a mysterious businessman named Mr. Wedneday, he is slowly told of an impending battle between the old mythological Gods of yore and new American Gods of modernism and materialism, a battle Mr. Wednesday wants Shadow to help him win. Before Shadow can reconcile the conflict between the gods of America's past and the gods of its future, he must reconcile the conflict of his own, putting to rest ghosts of his old life and charting a new course. American Gods gets sidetracked towards the middle of the book as Shadow finds a new life in an upper midwest town. This portion of the book drags on and could have been greatly shortened. The book then continues on its original plotline and keeps the reader engaged by introducing one colorful character-God. The grand finale Gaiman proffers satisfies the narrative but still leaves the thematic conflicts of the story unresolved. Nonetheless, American Gods succeeds in capturing the wandering soul the great American landscape and provides a compelling depiction of the symbolic forces that inspire those who live and breath it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-15 06:05:09.
(Language: English)
Shadow has just been released from prison and is on his way home to rebuild his life with his wife Laura. A Few days before his release however, he is called into the warden's office and finds out that his wife and best friend, who had a job waiting for Shadow, are both dead, victims of a car crash. Shadow receives early release so he can attend to matters. On the plane ride to the funeral, Shadow is seated next to a man who goes by the name of Wednesday, and who offer Shadow a job that seems too good to be true. Shadow is not interested, but Wednesday keeps showing up where he shouldn't be, and Shadow finally relents. What ensues is a war among the gods of old, brought from their home countries to America by immigrants, and the gods of the new age, Technology, Media, etc, who are trying to take over. As Shadow and Wednesday go all over the US trying to recruit the gods of old to fight for their cause, the gods of the new age are following their every move, and every one waits for the storm to hit. Not usually my kind of book but I loved this! Great story, great characters, I found myself slowing down at the end because I didn't want it to end. I wish there would have been more detail about the gods of old, but a highly satisfying read. If Stephen King wrote a book without his unnecessary, self-indulgent rambling, this would be it. Excellent.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-05-24 03:25:59.
(Language: English)
I only started reading Neil Gaiman a short while ago. I knew of him, but mostly the Sandman works, and, really, comic books, er, graphic novels haven't been my thing for a long time. But everyone talked about how GOOD he is. Then I found myself with a copy of Stardust on my to-read shelf. I enjoyed it. (No, I have not seeen the movie.) Since he is coming to my area in June to do a talk on American Gods, and I plan on going, I decided I probably should read it. And I am very glad I did! (There may be some minor spoilers in the following, so if you have not read, and do not like knowing, you may want to skip. Fair warning.) "This is not a good country for gods." I think that quote, which appears in several places in the book in various forms, pretty much says it all. The story involves gods, ancient and new, in America. The old gods, who are drawn from many mythologies, are faded, almost caricatures of their former powerful selves. The new gods, born of the modern world's love of technology, are rising. They are all gearing up for a final battle for control. Or so it seems. But the story really is about Shadow, who is not a god. He just works for one of them, although he doesn't, at first, realize what he is getting into. It's a coming of age story, even though Shadow is something like thirty-two in the book. It's a road trip story, on several levels. Shadow criss-crosses the continent several times during the course of the story. It is also a "road trip" through his inner self, where he finds as much that is surprising as there is that he already knew. There are little vignettes starting many of the chapters. Some of them expand the stories of some of the gods. Some of them delve into the character and development of America, as much in explanation of why this is not a good country for gods, as why perhaps we need them. Some found these distracting. I did not. I felt they added a lot to the overall sense of the story. The story doesn't end where and when you think it will. Many find the ending unresolved or lacking. And perhaps if you read with the anticipation of the Most-Epic-Battle-Ever, it is. For me, it was an excellent ending, if not what I expected. I guess some of the reason I liked this as much as I did is that I have always been fascinated with mythology and ancient gods. American Gods draws on much of what I have read about for years, and adds to it. It also brings some fresh ideas about how gods are formed and kept alive, and brings a modern interpretation to all that. There were some things I was able to figure out based on what I knew, but plenty of surprises, also. I also find Mr. Gaiman exceptionally easy to read. Not that this is a simple story. It is not. But his writing style flows very well and makes for comfortable reading. All in all, I recommend this book highly, with a couple warnings. There is some "bad" language and explicit sex, as well as some violence. If those are not to your taste, this is probably not the book for you. If you can tolerate the above, it is a wonderful read.
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