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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Reminded me a lot of Stephen King, minus the horror. Pretty good story and an easy read.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Colonisation, War
I finished [b:American Gods|18161930|American Gods (American Gods, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372964356s/18161930.jpg|1970226] last night, and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a deep, dark, soulful, well-written novel. And I mean novel, not book. Not many books I've read lately can, in good conscience, be called novels in the strictest sense of the word -- especially not novels that are so well-sculpted. American Gods is easily among the best three novels I've read in the past decade, or more. It's no wonder it won so many awards (including the Stoker, for those of you who read a lot of horror etc). My only (very minor) complaint is .
By the way, I'm glad I read the 2013 edition; after much contemplation, the author went back and rewrote large sections of it, added bits in and took bits out, and says this is the edition of which he is most proud. He seems to be quite a deep thinker, and I trust his judgement. Oh, there's also an "American Gods novella" tacked on to the end of this particular edition of the book, in the appendix -- and honestly, it's more like an epilogue than a completely separate tale. The novella is a continuation of the story that is more than worth a read.
I cannot praise American Gods highly enough. Truly. What a refreshing gem.
Spoiler
that the conflict resolution, from the climax to shortly before the end (but not including the end, which was superb), seemed a little bit rushed. Not terribly so, however. It was still very, very well-crafted. So it's only a minor complaint. I hid this criticism in spoiler brackets because I don't want it to negatively impact or prejudice any potential readers. There is also a good chance that my mood while reading that part, totally separate from what was happening in the book at the time, was the cause of my feeling that it was slightly rushed. Because honestly, I didn't want the story to endBy the way, I'm glad I read the 2013 edition; after much contemplation, the author went back and rewrote large sections of it, added bits in and took bits out, and says this is the edition of which he is most proud. He seems to be quite a deep thinker, and I trust his judgement. Oh, there's also an "American Gods novella" tacked on to the end of this particular edition of the book, in the appendix -- and honestly, it's more like an epilogue than a completely separate tale. The novella is a continuation of the story that is more than worth a read.
I cannot praise American Gods highly enough. Truly. What a refreshing gem.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
slow-paced
La gente crede, pensò. E' così che fanno gli uomini. Credono.
E poi non si prendono la responsabilità della propria fede: evocano le cose e non si fidano delle evocazioni. Popolano le tenebre di spettri, dei, elettroni, storie.
La gente immagina e crede: ed è questa fede, questa fede solita come la roccia che fa accadere le cose.
Tre stelle e mezzo per me, anche se le ultime 150 pagine meritano molto di più di tre stelle.
Il resto del libro però si trascina a fatica sopratutto per le prime 200 pagine, in un libro troppo carico non saprei come altro definirlo. Troppi personaggi, troppa mitologia diversa, troppe storie secondarie che si intrecciano, troppe pagine. Adoro i libri lunghi non fraintendetemi, ma la storia di Shadow poteva essere raccontata benissimo con 200 pagine in meno ed il libro non ci avrebbe perso, anzi ci avrebbe guadagnato.
E poi non si prendono la responsabilità della propria fede: evocano le cose e non si fidano delle evocazioni. Popolano le tenebre di spettri, dei, elettroni, storie.
La gente immagina e crede: ed è questa fede, questa fede solita come la roccia che fa accadere le cose.
Tre stelle e mezzo per me, anche se le ultime 150 pagine meritano molto di più di tre stelle.
Il resto del libro però si trascina a fatica sopratutto per le prime 200 pagine, in un libro troppo carico non saprei come altro definirlo. Troppi personaggi, troppa mitologia diversa, troppe storie secondarie che si intrecciano, troppe pagine. Adoro i libri lunghi non fraintendetemi, ma la storia di Shadow poteva essere raccontata benissimo con 200 pagine in meno ed il libro non ci avrebbe perso, anzi ci avrebbe guadagnato.
Despite enjoying this book, it's hard to look past Neil Gaiman's personal life and give this a recommendation. The book is unique, decently written, and reads like a movie or TV series (hence the TV series that was adapted from it).
I'm generally against separating the artist from the piece of art given that the book should be a reflection of their perspective so I hold American Gods to the same standard. The undertones found throughout after knowing Gaiman's personal history of assault, manipulation, etc make it difficult to stomach.
I'm generally against separating the artist from the piece of art given that the book should be a reflection of their perspective so I hold American Gods to the same standard. The undertones found throughout after knowing Gaiman's personal history of assault, manipulation, etc make it difficult to stomach.
