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adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Murder
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Alcohol
funny
mysterious
fast-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
The reveal of Neil Gaiman being an awful person last year aside, I was gifted this book for my birthday and so I read it because I read everything people gift me. I’m going to review this book objectively, but would like to clarify that I in no way condone the support—financially or otherwise—of Neil Gaiman directly. He’s not a good person.
I’m giving this book a rating of 4 / 5. The concepts were fascinating, I loved getting a peek into West African folklore and mythology, I liked the characters and their depths, and the plot was fascinating. Reading on as the pieces of the mystery and resolution fall into place in quick succession was very interesting, and I liked the pacing. The story is written with serious overarching plot hidden by humor and audacity. There’s a very light-hearted tone throughout, consistently undercut with disbelief, incredulity, and skepticism. The balancing act was very well done. I also liked the character developments. It’s a classic story of Fat Charlie and his brother becoming more like each other as the story progresses, and at the end it’s very clear to see how one brother has impacted the other fundamentally. There’s consistent themes and symbolism throughout that were also interesting to spot throughout the story—namely the connections between songs, spider webs, and the story itself.
The only reason I’m docking a point off of my rating is because I didn’t feel like there was any real lead in to the folklore itself. While interesting to learn about it alongside the character, the lack of any coherent explanation made some of the scenes confusing to me with seemingly no resolution and only at the end did I have a loose idea about what was happening mythology-wise. Otherwise, the plot was sound, the story well-written, and the characters fleshed out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, Violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
funny
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:
Complicated
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman is the second comedic book I've read of his and he hits the nail on the head for a second time.
The small ensemble of characters are nothing but fantastic. Our main character, Fat Charlie, is a total loser. He gets introduced to his brother Spider who's the total opposite of him. This is when the shenanigans unfold and at first, the story seems to be heading in the direction of a weird, demigod adult romance. Eventually though, it develops, and it keeps developing, until it becomes a full on thriller and you wonder to yourself if you're reading the same novel. This development is a good thing though, as the story it develops into is action packed, exciting, and seems to be a good fit for the characters.
The mythology elements are horrendously dark but it somehow maintains it's lighthearted humour throughout the entire book. The character development for everyone as well is fantastic. It honestly executes so much so well, I really can't say much in this book.
However, for the missing .25 in this book, the chemistry between Daisy and Charlie feels underdeveloped. It ends with the two characters marrying each other even though I didn't see the reason why they would do that in the first place.
Overall, a funny, fantastically written book which develops into utter chaos and I love it. 4.75/5
The small ensemble of characters are nothing but fantastic. Our main character, Fat Charlie, is a total loser. He gets introduced to his brother Spider who's the total opposite of him. This is when the shenanigans unfold and at first, the story seems to be heading in the direction of a weird, demigod adult romance. Eventually though, it develops, and it keeps developing, until it becomes a full on thriller and you wonder to yourself if you're reading the same novel. This development is a good thing though, as the story it develops into is action packed, exciting, and seems to be a good fit for the characters.
The mythology elements are horrendously dark but it somehow maintains it's lighthearted humour throughout the entire book. The character development for everyone as well is fantastic. It honestly executes so much so well, I really can't say much in this book.
Overall, a funny, fantastically written book which develops into utter chaos and I love it. 4.75/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a bit hard for me to get through, i didnt like the writing style much and (this is the nicest way i can say this) its very obviously written by a straight man. This would all be fine but i have trouble getting over the fact that spider raped rosie and then they live happily wver after i like the concept and honestly if woman weren't written how they are in the book id probably rate it a star higher. I dont believe the author intended to fall into misogynistic tropes but growing up in a sexist society he probably did it subconsciously. No hate just my opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Police brutality
dark
funny
slow-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
tricky one to rate and i'm not sure how i feel about it really
[spoilers throughout]
Pros:
- the imagination of it really was excellent. the mythic gods were brilliantly described and creepy, with the Bird Woman lurking in the field from Charlie's train and generally being very spooky
- the characters were done well, especially Daisy and Maeve, I thought. they were brought in rather randomly and then woven in to be intricately part of the story and that was very effective and satisfying. Graham Coats was a convincing and awful villain, mundane enough to be realistic but still so uneasily disturbing at the same time. Him being the human equivalent of Tiger was clever and cool
- how the story all tied up was my favourite part, very satisfying. there was a great deal of character growth in Charlie and Spider, and to a lesser extent Rosie and Daisy too. Charlie and Spider's arc reminds me of the two sisters in that children's story I read - where one reckless sister learns to be more thoughtful, and the too-careful sister learns to be a little brave. they were two parts of the same whole (loved that reveal) and they needed to come together to balance each other out a bit.
- Charlie's magic coming into itself, and him becoming more confident with it, was great to see too. he had his own sort of magic, as long as he could believe in it he could make others believe it too. and i'm glad he wasn't totally healed, ie. he still got a bit of stage fright beforehand.
- in the interview questions, Gaiman says that he never intended for it to go as dark as it does with Maeve's muder, but I'm glad it did. I enjoyed the dark punch of the Bird Woman's sinister awfulness, Tiger's violence, and Graham being frighteningly terrible. it definitely upped the stakes and gave the book a real bite - the gods felt like convincingly powerful and also callous beings.
cons:
- so I hated the start and middle of this book. Charlie was painful to read, Spider I loathed and Rosie frustrated me (and continued to throughout the book). I understand that there was a satisfying arc for the brothers' characters and Spider definitely got his comeuppance, but I still wanted to DNF it because i was so fed up with them.
- and the biggest part of why I hated it, and the point that was never dealt with, was how Spider raped Rosie. She never wanted sex with Charlie and she knew him and planned to marry him. Spider had sex with her under false presences (legally rape) and using his "miracle" magic on her. He influences her to go away or do as he wishes with no compunction and there's no consequences for this except him being a bit sad he lost her for a spell. She slaps him and its forgotten about. Charlie also makes little to no effort to save Rosie from getting duped and influenced by Spider and is only pissed that *he's* losing his fiancée. he gives absolutely no shits that she, a woman who would never have had sex with Charlie when she's herself, got magicked into having sex. Really disgusting
- I know this was written in 2005, but there are some horrible little asides or so called jokes. One I remember was saying something derogatory about people who see things, ie. making a mean-spirited joke of schizophrenia, another about cross-dressing, and there were many other places I winced. Gaiman says Anansi is meant to be about 'the revenge of the weak', but the book is still cruel to people already trodden on by society, and it's treatment of Rosie was shit as hell
- Gaiman also says in the interview notes at the back that it's a comic book. I found very little in it funny. There was one point I chuckled and that was it, I think. the jokes just didn't land for me.
so... very mixed feelings. Hated the start and middle, but the end was very satisfying and I stayed up late to finish it.
[spoilers throughout]
Pros:
- the imagination of it really was excellent. the mythic gods were brilliantly described and creepy, with the Bird Woman lurking in the field from Charlie's train and generally being very spooky
- the characters were done well, especially Daisy and Maeve, I thought. they were brought in rather randomly and then woven in to be intricately part of the story and that was very effective and satisfying. Graham Coats was a convincing and awful villain, mundane enough to be realistic but still so uneasily disturbing at the same time. Him being the human equivalent of Tiger was clever and cool
- how the story all tied up was my favourite part, very satisfying. there was a great deal of character growth in Charlie and Spider, and to a lesser extent Rosie and Daisy too. Charlie and Spider's arc reminds me of the two sisters in that children's story I read - where one reckless sister learns to be more thoughtful, and the too-careful sister learns to be a little brave. they were two parts of the same whole (loved that reveal) and they needed to come together to balance each other out a bit.
- Charlie's magic coming into itself, and him becoming more confident with it, was great to see too. he had his own sort of magic, as long as he could believe in it he could make others believe it too. and i'm glad he wasn't totally healed, ie. he still got a bit of stage fright beforehand.
- in the interview questions, Gaiman says that he never intended for it to go as dark as it does with Maeve's muder, but I'm glad it did. I enjoyed the dark punch of the Bird Woman's sinister awfulness, Tiger's violence, and Graham being frighteningly terrible. it definitely upped the stakes and gave the book a real bite - the gods felt like convincingly powerful and also callous beings.
cons:
- so I hated the start and middle of this book. Charlie was painful to read, Spider I loathed and Rosie frustrated me (and continued to throughout the book). I understand that there was a satisfying arc for the brothers' characters and Spider definitely got his comeuppance, but I still wanted to DNF it because i was so fed up with them.
- and the biggest part of why I hated it, and the point that was never dealt with, was how Spider raped Rosie. She never wanted sex with Charlie and she knew him and planned to marry him. Spider had sex with her under false presences (legally rape) and using his "miracle" magic on her. He influences her to go away or do as he wishes with no compunction and there's no consequences for this except him being a bit sad he lost her for a spell. She slaps him and its forgotten about. Charlie also makes little to no effort to save Rosie from getting duped and influenced by Spider and is only pissed that *he's* losing his fiancée. he gives absolutely no shits that she, a woman who would never have had sex with Charlie when she's herself, got magicked into having sex. Really disgusting
- I know this was written in 2005, but there are some horrible little asides or so called jokes. One I remember was saying something derogatory about people who see things, ie. making a mean-spirited joke of schizophrenia, another about cross-dressing, and there were many other places I winced. Gaiman says Anansi is meant to be about 'the revenge of the weak', but the book is still cruel to people already trodden on by society, and it's treatment of Rosie was shit as hell
- Gaiman also says in the interview notes at the back that it's a comic book. I found very little in it funny. There was one point I chuckled and that was it, I think. the jokes just didn't land for me.
so... very mixed feelings. Hated the start and middle, but the end was very satisfying and I stayed up late to finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
I think what happens with Rosie counts as sexual assault or rape, but others may not see it that way
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun and fast-paced with a dark undercurrent throughout, I really enjoyed Anansi Boys overall! Took off a star as the last 20% became fairly muddled and kind of fell off. I flew through the first 80% and the last bit took me a couple days to finish.
It does not have the same overall ~vibe~ as American Gods - it has a much more lighthearted tone even with the stakes presented - but a fun follow-up and worth the read! I loved the characters!
It does not have the same overall ~vibe~ as American Gods - it has a much more lighthearted tone even with the stakes presented - but a fun follow-up and worth the read! I loved the characters!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gore, Torture, Death of parent