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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Nah, Neil Gaiman is still not my cup of tea. Read this for our book club and could see why others really like it, but it wasn't a very enjoyable ride for me.
My second attempt reading this book was successful, and I'm glad I read it. It is quite the trip, literally and figuratively, since a road trip occupies much of the plot. Although the title is "American Gods," most of the gods are the old gods from Europe, Egypt and elsewhere who have fallen on hard times, I guess you could say. And by American, he includes gods of indigenous peoples as well as newer "gods" of US culture. So it is quite the mishmash! The plot is crazy, so I'm not even going to try to explain it. I suppose this book falls into the category of "magical realism" (which I'm not a huge fan of, to be honest) although is it much more humorous than the few novels of magical realism that I've read in the past such as [b:One Hundred Years of Solitude|320|One Hundred Years of Solitude|Gabriel García Márquez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327881361l/320._SX50_.jpg|3295655].
American Gods borders the line between blaspheming and proselytizing. I can't say that I fell in love with any of the characters or was compelled to stay up late at night, turning the pages. But the story is well written, and it seems well researched. I took my time with the book, not because I was bored with it, but because it felt comfortable, and I liked that I was spending just a little time every night in this world. There is just enough fantasy to make you realize that reality isn't all that it seems. Even (maybe especially) towards the end, I wasn't sure which way the story was going to go, but I was optimistic for an interesting ending, and I was not left unimpressed.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The book IS good ...but just watch the show. Save yourself hours of time.
I liked this. A lot. I think.
Has anyone decided what genre this novel falls in? I understand now why that is a question that floats around.
If you enjoy Gaiman and are in to experience a grittier, explicitly cruder version of his work...this is the one for you! There is plenty of folklore, magic and religion rooted in this story, that a Gaiman reader will appreciate....but there is enough real life (or I guess a pseudo real life?) story layered on top to appeal to a broader audience.
I'm not sure who I would recommend this to; probably not a lot of people...although personally I'm pretty sure I was fully satisfied with it. If you do read it I'm sure you'll know what I mean.
Has anyone decided what genre this novel falls in? I understand now why that is a question that floats around.
If you enjoy Gaiman and are in to experience a grittier, explicitly cruder version of his work...this is the one for you! There is plenty of folklore, magic and religion rooted in this story, that a Gaiman reader will appreciate....but there is enough real life (or I guess a pseudo real life?) story layered on top to appeal to a broader audience.
I'm not sure who I would recommend this to; probably not a lot of people...although personally I'm pretty sure I was fully satisfied with it. If you do read it I'm sure you'll know what I mean.
Woops I finished this book awhile ago and forgot to update this.
This book was pretty good! I found the mythology interesting.
This book was pretty good! I found the mythology interesting.
Para ser que la fantasía no es mi género preferido, estuvo bien. Por varios motivos, tardé demasiado en terminarlo, y más allá de los personales, uno de ellos fue que el medio de la historia se me hizo cuesta arriba. Al parecer, la versión que leí fue la extendida, me atrevo a decir que los escritores, incluso los consagrados, hacen bien en escuchar a los editores. En este caso, creo que hubiera disfrutado más de la versión original, pero bueno... Algunos autores se ganan el derecho a hacer lo que quieran, y este es el caso de Gaiman. Supongo que los amantes de la fantasía estuvieron encantados con esta versión, lástima que no sea mi caso. De todos modos, bien escrito, con conceptos interesantes y teniendo en cuenta mi no preferencia por el género, se puede decir que es una excelente novela.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
Honestly a wasted opportunity of a book. It had all the ingredients, but Gaiman could not commit to saying anything more profound that "people these days worship money, man." It's a book that flinches from actually examining its own subjects and it's a shame, because the concept had legs.
Gaiman has a writer's eye and an immigrant's perspective, when he actually describes the US, he hits the bull's eye every time. But he's also too cowardly or too lazy to go beyond the surface and it just kills the book.
Gaiman has a writer's eye and an immigrant's perspective, when he actually describes the US, he hits the bull's eye every time. But he's also too cowardly or too lazy to go beyond the surface and it just kills the book.
Content Warnings
there's a weird sex scene with a cat-godess that's more on the feline side than the human side and it's also clearly Gaiman writing every woman as horny for the main character for no reason
Like, it's just annoying