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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
For my personal reference. I do not support Neil Gaiman.
I knew the "twist" going in, but it was still a cool concept and Gaiman pulled it off well.
The bodies in the trunks of the cars? Brilliant.
The coin tricks didn't add anything to the story for me.
The coin tricks didn't add anything to the story for me.
The Author's Preferred Text version of this book from 2011 is definitely a brilliant read and the best version of those released!
I quite liked this. I listened to the full cast version with the author's preferred text, and it was quite good, better than the first single-narrator that I tried. It flows well, keeps you interested, and has a great premise. The ending refrains from being overly happy while still giving you good satisfaction. It's nice to see all these myths and gods and the immigrant experience. It makes me think, as always, of how silly believing in religion is, with all the evidence of history to the contrary.
There's a TV show, and I have no idea how they could possibly do the book justice. Reading this makes me want to read Good Omens.
There's a TV show, and I have no idea how they could possibly do the book justice. Reading this makes me want to read Good Omens.
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An enjoyable read but felt a bit hollow (a bit like Shadow), perhaps bc it's harder for it to keep in frame the spirit of America that perhaps it captured 20 years ago but also I never quite felt like there was much to be said of America in present day, so much as it had to say about what we left behind. Even then, I'm not so sure you can use the gods to explain that without also showing us more of the people who did the leaving behind.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
I really loved the overall concept of this book. The overall writing was clever and the characters were so well thought out. I was really able to fall into this story and follow all of the winding curves of the plot. There were times when the tangents felt a little too random or detailed, which detracted from the main plot, but they also provided a greater insight into the overall portrait of America, so this is really a small complaint. Overall, this is an amazing book.
Disclosure: I actually listened to this book on audio. It was the fuller "director's cut" version. Performed by a full voice cast. None of these made for an especially enjoyable experience.
I should probably give Gaiman (who I'm a big fan of) a pass for these reasons. My biggest gripes can be blamed on one of these issues, none of which--except maybe for using the overlong, awkwardly paced Tenth Anniversary Edition--was Gaiman's fault. The voice acting was so hammy it was comical. Maybe that's how voice actors operate. The text needed adaptation for a full-cast reading. Listening to the narrator say "...he said" or "...she said" or "...so-and-so said" after every line of dialogue, when the voice actor makes it abundantly clear who's talking, is unnecessary and was surprisingly distracting.
But with respects to the novel itself, I was left ambivalent. The premise was interesting, and Gaiman pulled off what would have been a difficult thematic construct for another writer. His interstitial episodes on how the gods were brought to the New World were fascinating, and were for the most part the best sections of the book. I found the main narrative less engrossing. Perhaps because I was listening to the longer anniversary edition, the story was plodding at points. Some characters--particularly the gods--could have been fleshed out more, especially as they should be the most interesting characters in the book. They're gods, after all. But too many came across as cartoons, as stereotypical as Gaiman's depiction of Midwestern Americans (not everyone talks like an extra from the move Fargo, don'tchaknow?). Their appearances were comparatively brief, and it felt like Gaiman was just checking boxes. Shadow is a problematic protagonist in that he is deliberately left vague, but it results in a passiveness that made it hard to care what's happening to him. In the end, the premise and its treatment were good enough to keep me going, but ultimately I needed some inspired characterization or style to overcome a sluggish plot.
I should probably give Gaiman (who I'm a big fan of) a pass for these reasons. My biggest gripes can be blamed on one of these issues, none of which--except maybe for using the overlong, awkwardly paced Tenth Anniversary Edition--was Gaiman's fault. The voice acting was so hammy it was comical. Maybe that's how voice actors operate. The text needed adaptation for a full-cast reading. Listening to the narrator say "...he said" or "...she said" or "...so-and-so said" after every line of dialogue, when the voice actor makes it abundantly clear who's talking, is unnecessary and was surprisingly distracting.
But with respects to the novel itself, I was left ambivalent. The premise was interesting, and Gaiman pulled off what would have been a difficult thematic construct for another writer. His interstitial episodes on how the gods were brought to the New World were fascinating, and were for the most part the best sections of the book. I found the main narrative less engrossing. Perhaps because I was listening to the longer anniversary edition, the story was plodding at points. Some characters--particularly the gods--could have been fleshed out more, especially as they should be the most interesting characters in the book. They're gods, after all. But too many came across as cartoons, as stereotypical as Gaiman's depiction of Midwestern Americans (not everyone talks like an extra from the move Fargo, don'tchaknow?). Their appearances were comparatively brief, and it felt like Gaiman was just checking boxes. Shadow is a problematic protagonist in that he is deliberately left vague, but it results in a passiveness that made it hard to care what's happening to him. In the end, the premise and its treatment were good enough to keep me going, but ultimately I needed some inspired characterization or style to overcome a sluggish plot.
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
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