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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
This was a little slow to start, but a great Gaiman book once several of the threads of the narrative started to weave together.
Really cool concept with the old gods versus the new modern american gods. I was a bit disappointed by how the conflict was resolved as I was looking forward to a climactic battle between the gods. All the characters were very interesting to read.
I met the gods, or are they the Gods? I am not sure, but I know I met them. And I knew them, and they talked to me, and I was able to see them for who they are. And each god had its own way, its own path, its own existence and its own death. The gods are not infinite but limited and malleable, and human.
I loved this book when it was The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. Shameful.
Shows how much of Neil Gaiman fan I've become when I am prepared to tackle a 600 odd plus page book. I was facing up to my demons and I succeeded. So what about the book? It has some nice ideas, some of which seem like they were on the cutting room of the Sandman series but perhaps not so well thought out. That's not to say it's not an enjoyable read, it's just Neil has written some other stuff which is stronger. Even he admits it has some flaws.
This book really grew on me. I was very hesitant at first, and I couldn’t find a rhythm, but then I devoured it. Sometimes I felt too dumb to really know what was going on, but I still enjoyed the book.
None of this can actually be happening. If it makes you more comfortable, you could simply think of it as metaphor. Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you – even, perhaps, against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers and triumphs against all opposition.
3.5
3.5
Ik vind het moeilijk om dit boek te beschrijven. De verhaallijn was gewoonweg vreemd; ik had vaak geen idee waar het naartoe ging, zelfs niet tijdens het lezen van de laatste paar hoofdstukken. Hoewel er op het einde een soort ontknoping was, bleef ik met veel onbeantwoorde vragen zitten, wat me eerlijk gezegd licht frustreerde.
Toch heb ik genoten van deze klepper van 650 pagina's. Gaiman heeft een unieke schrijfstijl die me wel kan smaken. Ik voelde me geen enkele seconde verveeld, zelfs wanneer er meerdere hoofdstukken achter elkaar niets belangrijk leek te gebeuren. Dat is, denk ik, het gevolg van de manier waarop American Gods zich presenteert. Een bijzonder aspect van dit boek is namelijk dat je niet zozeer een strak afgelijnd verhaal volgt, maar eerder een opeenvolging van complexe gevoelens, thema's en metaforen, die met elkaar verbonden zijn door één rode, maar dunne draad.
Een mooie kennismaking met de hersenkronkels van Neil Gaiman. Ik ben zeker van plan om in de toekomst nog boeken van hem te lezen.
Toch heb ik genoten van deze klepper van 650 pagina's. Gaiman heeft een unieke schrijfstijl die me wel kan smaken. Ik voelde me geen enkele seconde verveeld, zelfs wanneer er meerdere hoofdstukken achter elkaar niets belangrijk leek te gebeuren. Dat is, denk ik, het gevolg van de manier waarop American Gods zich presenteert. Een bijzonder aspect van dit boek is namelijk dat je niet zozeer een strak afgelijnd verhaal volgt, maar eerder een opeenvolging van complexe gevoelens, thema's en metaforen, die met elkaar verbonden zijn door één rode, maar dunne draad.
Een mooie kennismaking met de hersenkronkels van Neil Gaiman. Ik ben zeker van plan om in de toekomst nog boeken van hem te lezen.
It's been such a long time since I read this, 2001 or thereabouts! I remembered a few small details but not much about how I enjoyed it. This time round I was enjoying it and interested to see where it was going but I wasn't that excited, until the closing chapters where the payoff was really worth it. Still not quite 5 stars for me, but a very solid 4 stars indeed.
I loved all the old gods, the ones from our own reality and some I'm assuming Gaiman found in his rich imagination. The concept of the old gods losing their power and the new gods being created but only having a tenuous hold till the next new fad comes along felt so real. I love how Gaiman can write fiction that way, it just feels so right, like somehow you always knew it was so, you just hadn't realised it yet.
Definitely looking forward to the TV show now, I hope they've done it justice.
I loved all the old gods, the ones from our own reality and some I'm assuming Gaiman found in his rich imagination. The concept of the old gods losing their power and the new gods being created but only having a tenuous hold till the next new fad comes along felt so real. I love how Gaiman can write fiction that way, it just feels so right, like somehow you always knew it was so, you just hadn't realised it yet.
Spoiler
The fact that the entire book was a set-up for the biggest two-man con the world has ever seen was a very satisfying pay-off. Plus the fact that Laura had to die in order for Shadow to get sucked into the con, but in fact Laura dying enabled Shadow to discover the con and get resurrected in order to stop it was a lovely juicy irony on top.Definitely looking forward to the TV show now, I hope they've done it justice.