Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

43 reviews

eddiesourboy's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Neil Gaimen has really great prose and dialogue, but my god does he use those abilities for evil sometimes. Fascinating book. Incredibly long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Sexual content, Child death, Gore, Violence, War, Animal death, Car accident, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Pedophilia and Cancer

miayukino's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Helped me get over some big book fear. I love Shadow so much, which is saying something because I never tend to feel so strongly about protagonists. This book comforted me as I chugged through it, slowly, probably over a year. But it was worth it, and l imagine I’ll be reading it again when the time is right. It was wonderful to finish this book in time for spring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Child death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Vomit, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Torture, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and War

greenglass67's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s a combination of a detective mystery, a thriller, a romance, and more. The mythology behind this story is so detailed. Little hints and clues are laced throughout the whole book. It’s got a very American feel, as the title implies. It’s a fascinating commentary on belief, culture, faith, and worship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, War, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Infidelity

Moderate: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Blood, Alcohol, Colonisation, Murder, and Police brutality

Minor: Terminal illness, Gore, Cursing, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

cstein's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A couple too many driving scenes and stays in decrepit hotels/houses bogged down the narrative in the middle. However, overall I found it to be a provocative and authentic-feeling exploration of American culture, rounded out by a slow burn small-town mystery and anchored by a fantastical romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Torture, Racism, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

Minor: Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, and Incest

caitiebarton's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, and Child death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

szote's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Animal death, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Racism, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, Torture, Car accident, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

leapyear_reader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

It feels as if i have taken an extraordinary roadtrip through Gaiman’s inner woorkings of his imagination and source of creativity. A book filled with complex, layered characters, each compelling enough to be a protogonist, yet Gaiman slices through tales and trips like butter on pancakes served in a motel diner.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, Murder, Child death, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Slavery, and Animal death

Moderate: Gore, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Grief, Genocide, and Vomit

Minor: Car accident and Miscarriage

mxbluet18's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Trigger warnings for American Gods include: racism, sex work; cheating (infidelity); suicidal ideation; murder and imprisonment.
☆
☆
Days before his release from prison, Shadow’s wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.
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This book took me the best part of just over a week to read. But sometimes the length of a book is actually a good thing, it ensures that the reader actually understand what they're reading and gets all the necessary background for the relevant characters.
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That being said, I'm not totally sure I followed the exact intricacies of this one. This isn't the first Neil Gaiman book I've read, and it's not the first to confuse me either. But that's kinda the style of his work from what I understand. While I'm not sure I followed it entirely, I did really enjoy it. The chatactets were really well presented and seemed like genuine people, which is what you want from a book, especially one as long as this one.
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It was kinda fun to read, especially when it's bringing in the Old Gods, and talking about Norse mythology, but then also Egyptian, Slavic and Arabic. Some of the gods and goddesses I recognised from other versions in other mythology, like the Slavic Zorya sisters who have different variations in Greek mythology. Ultimately, something I really liked was the fact I caught onto one characters godly identity faster than Shadow did. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Murder

56bumblebees's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

I can't believe a British man captured the charm of the US so well. Holy places being roadside attractions and small towns was such a good decision, and I love that Gaiman makes sure his characters are fed and you know it. Makes me hungry. I can definitely feel where his voice shows up in Good Omens now. I can also see where this book inspired other creators I follow (Erin Morgenstern, Alex Hirsch maybe). Took a minute to care about Shadow, but he really is such a sweetie and it shows in the littlest ways like caring for Bast before he really decided he believed in gods and cheating a coin toss to lose so he would have to pay for Sam's meal. I can tell it's been too long since I've been in a literature class because the foreshadowing drove right past me, even when it was literally in all caps and bolded, smh. Kinda surprised at how easy the resolution seemed, but overall it concluded very well. Loved it so much, I bought Neverwhere before I was halfway through this one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual content, Colonisation, Cursing, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Blood, Violence, War, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, and Grief