Reviews with content warning for Child death - American Gods

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

85 reviews

m0rdred_the_fallen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Primer libro que leo de Neil Gaiman, definitivamente voy a buscar su bibliografía porque este libro fue un favorito casi instantaneo.

Digo casi instantaneo porque cuando me di cuenta que el libro no iba a ser estratagemas, reuniones tácticas, ataques y contrataques (como pensé por la reseña en la contraportada) tuve la tentación de poner en pausa mi lectura y buscar otro libro. Pero, poco a poco, me fui adentrando más y más en la historia tanto por Sombra como por las trastadas de Wednesday.

Lo que más me gustó fue lo diverso de los seres míticos y deidades que aparecen en el libro, realmente es un catálogo diverso de personajes que me tuvo pensando en que deidad podía ser tal o cual personaje; mis favoritos fueron:

Anansi > el Sr. Nancy
Thot > el Sr. Ibis
Anubis > el Sr. Jacquel
Bastet > la gata de Ibis y Jacquel
Loki, el preso Low Key Lyesmith

También me impulsó a reflexionar en los apartes del Sr. Ibis, el monólogo de Sam Cuervo Negro sobre aquello que una persona puede creer con todas sus peculiaridades, adendos y lógica particular.

Hubo, aún así, dos historia que me impactaron:

La historia de los dos hermanos vendidos como esclavos, ¿cómo sería nuestro mundo si los imperios esclavistas hubiésen colapsado mucho antes de lo que hicieron? ¿Y si no hubieran existido? No solo la falta de arrocidades, dolor y sufrimiento, pero la mezcla de razas, la mutilación social y cultural que muchos pueblos sufrieron ¿Cómo serían las culturas y nuestro mundo moderno? ¿Cómo hubiera sido el intercambio cultural entre países sin estos imperios?
Los niños asesinados en Lakeside, la monstrousidad que los humanos creamos en esos dioses tribales y los pobres niños que pagaron con su vida la sed de sangre de Hinzelman.
Muy Omelas si me lo preguntan.

En cuanto a Wednesday, al principio fue como Ugh, maldito arrogante suertudo pero luego que le roba a la cajera, a los negocios y sobretodo como trata a Pascua y a la mesera del café me quise meter al libro para golpearlo y decirle que me importa un comino su berrinchito porque ya no le matan gente o animales en su nombre. Es peor, mucho peor, que la mesera a la que trata como basura.

Por último, el final del libro fue tan sorprendente como el desprecio que le agarré a Wednesday, que es mucho. Puedo decir con certeza que me alegro

de que Sombra les haya echado por tierra todo su teatrito y su guerra fabricada. Mira que tener un niño con una completa extraña solo para manipularlo de esa forma, solo Zeus es así del mal padre.

Y estoy seguro que, sinportar lo que Wednesday o Loki digan

el robo salió mal y encarcelaron a Sombra por favorecer su maldito plan. De esa forma, podían aprovechar para que Sombra estuviera vulnerable no solo por la ruptura de su relación como por la muerte de Laura. Además, seguramente, la mataron por puro gusto, no porque sirviera de algo; otro bendito "castigo" a la humanidad por no hacer como Wednesday quiera.

Como si alguno de los dos mereciera otra cosa que el olvido.

Content Warnings

trying_ceratops's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I ended up liking this book by the end but the docked stars are for the pace of the book and the fact I’ve tried to read this 3-4 times before unsuccessfully and finally pushed through this time. The mythology is neat, there’s definitely some misogyny, and the character development is the main character is well done but takes forever. The middle felt like a nothing happened. All that said, that should show how good the rest of the story is to get it up to 3.5. I know people who love this book and would argue its merits until they’re blue in the face, but I probably won’t re-read it

Content Warnings

stormeno's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

summercampcrush's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s no surprise that Neil Gaimen delivers a beautifully written story that is as much a portrait of (pre-9/11) America as it is an exploration of death in juxtaposition to life.

For context, I listened to the 10th Anniversary edition of the Authors Preferred Text, featuring a forward and postscript from Gaimen, as well as a bonus chapter. For being an audiobook that is more than 10 years old, it held up really well!

Characters:
Shadow, our protagonist, who is admittedly an odd duck. His blasé reaction to the escalating strangeness of his encounters throughout the book begs the question: who is this guy? We only get a few passages about his life before Laura, his wife. Nearly nothing about his upbringing or formative years. I felt like I kept waiting for the character to emerge from the stupor left in the wake of the untimely deaths of his wife and best friend (and the tangential fall out thereafter).

But Shadow was a pretty blank slate, an intentional decision, I’m sure. (Obviously, it’s Gaiman)His whole issue, his flaw, is that he hasn’t died, but he’s not truly living either. He seems to feel very little emotion for the first half of the book at least, only really allowing himself to break down once - after burying his wife, after revelations come to light at the funeral no less. It’s odd though, only until other characters frame this “not dead, not living” part of him as a problem, does he seem to start considering it a negative thing.

But in a way the way he seems to be sitting and watching the world like someone looking out from a living room window. Pretty passive? It’s weird, but in a way also zen as hell too, how he lets the world move around him like water around a stone.

As you can tell I can’t really puzzle him out. And neither can any of the other characters either. He’s smart, courageous, kind and humble. His motivations belies the desperation he barely acknowledges. Because, he still is, even with my careful reflection, still so, so hollow.

He’s a lone character though, remaining guarded to everyone who crosses his path. His internal dialogue is just as guarded, and often willfully in denial. It’s like he sees this crazy shit going on, and thinks ‘wow I’m more exhausted than I realized”

😐😑

Ultimately, it does give the book a rather bleak atmosphere throughout.

At least there are interesting intermissions from Shadow’s POV introducing us to some batshit insane Gods or breaking up the plot with historical accounts of how the Gods arrived to America. From crossing the land bridge to arriving as an enslaved child.

I found these asides enhanced the atmosphere of the book, it was also a refreshing way to step away from the main plot and recenter it rather seamlessly.

Writing and Story: I know I mentioned that I do appreciate when an Author doesn’t coddle the reader with ceaseless reference information to find all the answers just as quickly as possible. No hand holding, No easy payoff, no simple answers, especially the symbolic meanings or thematic elements.

The story is well crafted, simple in the way that it’s impressive to have happened. By that I mean, the story beats jump in bursts and starts, with characters seemingly staring down a barrel (literally and figuratively) with little warning more than a few times. And yet, it’s streamlined. Considered. Deliberate.

I enjoy writers like Neil Gaimen. Those that remind me of my favorite author, Richard Powers. Even though none of Powers books are my favorite (The Overstory does come close) - and I wouldn’t wish for a world where all the books I read are as much an experience in story as in language.

Content Warnings