You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
novellabella's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jeaniinabottle's review against another edition
4.0
So fair warning, there is a LOT of weird sexual sh*t in the first five chapters or so of this book. We have . There's also the later . BUT if you can get through the pile of weird sexual stuff, this is a really solid read with really fascinating implications and some unusual but provocative concepts - what DO we, as Americans, worship? What specifically entails worship?
The characters are interesting and the gods are in many cases familiar but still unique and memorable. I also was impressed, because I thought I'd nailed the twist long ahead of time, but it was actually different than what I'd figured out.
Overall a very solid read, though I'd be reluctant to recommend it to everyone, because, once again, so much weird sexual shit.
Spoiler
a woman dying from roadhead, a man being literally absorbed into a woman's vagina, and the implication that our protagonist will eventually fuck his dead wife whilst she's still deadSpoiler
sex scene through which two men literally switch species and the fact that our protagonist is raped (?) by a goddess, possibly while she's still in cat formThe characters are interesting and the gods are in many cases familiar but still unique and memorable. I also was impressed, because I thought I'd nailed the twist long ahead of time, but it was actually different than what I'd figured out.
Overall a very solid read, though I'd be reluctant to recommend it to everyone, because, once again, so much weird sexual shit.
hawkia75's review against another edition
2.0
I'm so sick of this book, and I just found out there's a part 3(!!) with another 6 hours!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I found this book disappointing. It seemed like such a good idea and I felt confident that Gaiman could deliver. I enjoyed the young adults books of his that I've read (The Graveyard Book and Coraline), and his fairy tales for adults (Stardust and Neverwhere), but I'm not sure that a novel is really his thing. It was too complicated and rambling, too self-indulgent. I can tell which characters he loves to write because they won't shut up! I found the language trite and uninspired, which I guess has a certain power when in a fairy tale, but is a real drawback in a novel and is really apparent when you're listening to an audiobook. I would still like to read the Sandman series, because I've heard so much about it, but I don't think I'll be reading Anansi Boys anytime soon.
A note about this audio edition. I didn't particularly love the reader. I think I might have liked him in a non-fiction book because he has a very nice voice, but I hated the way he did the dialogue, especially the female characters. I much preferred The Graveyard Book audiobook, which was read by Gaiman himself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I found this book disappointing. It seemed like such a good idea and I felt confident that Gaiman could deliver. I enjoyed the young adults books of his that I've read (The Graveyard Book and Coraline), and his fairy tales for adults (Stardust and Neverwhere), but I'm not sure that a novel is really his thing. It was too complicated and rambling, too self-indulgent. I can tell which characters he loves to write because they won't shut up! I found the language trite and uninspired, which I guess has a certain power when in a fairy tale, but is a real drawback in a novel and is really apparent when you're listening to an audiobook. I would still like to read the Sandman series, because I've heard so much about it, but I don't think I'll be reading Anansi Boys anytime soon.
A note about this audio edition. I didn't particularly love the reader. I think I might have liked him in a non-fiction book because he has a very nice voice, but I hated the way he did the dialogue, especially the female characters. I much preferred The Graveyard Book audiobook, which was read by Gaiman himself.
liv_graceish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i love this book. it hurts to rate it this low, when a year or two ago i would’ve rated it 5 stars. but i will never be able to read it the same again, not after everything has come out about Neil Gaiman.
zo277's review against another edition
3.0
This really should have been three books, or three volumes. The lives of gods currently, the impending war and the Midwestern showdown. Each plot or arc tends to be interrupted by the other arcs and it is really distracting. Everytime I would finally get into a portion of the book it would end for some random parallel part to begin and this was really irritating.
The premise of the book is actually really interesting and I felt like there was so much left on the table with what could have been done in this idea of old vs new gods. What I read here was mid, lackluster, mediocre perhaps (again, could have been remedied in a proportional volume).
There are some odd romance scenes that just seemed unnecessary and really made for a more awkward reading experience, This leads to my last thought.
Lastly, this book is in a style of writing that I really am not a fan of. There would be pages that would ramble on about driving somewhere, but then truly important information would be mentioned in passing. This book should be a TV show on TBS or HBO, for 500+ pages of writing there's really not a great deal of analysis one has to put into understanding the plot. This book is not a grand piece of literature that reveals something about the human condition. This seems like a notch above Dean Koontz but maybe not much better than Stephen King, no offense to either author.
The premise of the book is actually really interesting and I felt like there was so much left on the table with what could have been done in this idea of old vs new gods. What I read here was mid, lackluster, mediocre perhaps (again, could have been remedied in a proportional volume).
There are some odd romance scenes that just seemed unnecessary and really made for a more awkward reading experience, This leads to my last thought.
Lastly, this book is in a style of writing that I really am not a fan of. There would be pages that would ramble on about driving somewhere, but then truly important information would be mentioned in passing. This book should be a TV show on TBS or HBO, for 500+ pages of writing there's really not a great deal of analysis one has to put into understanding the plot. This book is not a grand piece of literature that reveals something about the human condition. This seems like a notch above Dean Koontz but maybe not much better than Stephen King, no offense to either author.
mariannethelibrarianne's review against another edition
4.0
What a long, strange trip the reader takes with Shadow, Mr. Wednesday and the entire cast of characters. Sometimes, while reading I wished Gaiman didn't make me work so hard. It's a long and convoluted path to make your way to the moral of the story, or point that the author is making, depending on how you look at it. No spoilers. You'll have to take the trip yourself.
alexandra_ricou's review against another edition
5.0
A thoroughly enjoyable read, and another masterpiece from Neil Gaiman. I decided I would wait to read the majority of this book until I was working in America over the summer, and it was well worth the wait. Reading a tale so rich in narrative, tangled with different strands of folklore, legend and snippets of American history, whilst staying in the titular country itself made this novel so much more immersive and fascinating to me as a reader. American Gods is an exquisite book!
kells97's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about so many things (like the best ones are) that I'm not sure how to review it, so I'll just leave you with a quote.
“People believe, thought Shadow. It's what people do. They believe, and then they do not take responsibility for their beliefs; they conjure things, and do not trust the conjuration. People populate the darkness; with ghosts, with gods, with electrons, with tales. People imagine, and people believe; and it is that rock solid belief, that makes things happen.”
“People believe, thought Shadow. It's what people do. They believe, and then they do not take responsibility for their beliefs; they conjure things, and do not trust the conjuration. People populate the darkness; with ghosts, with gods, with electrons, with tales. People imagine, and people believe; and it is that rock solid belief, that makes things happen.”
miss_xiomy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Listened to the Author’s preferred text on Audible and really appreciated the full cast of voices for the characters. It was a slow go for me but glad I finished it. If you like mythology and Americana anything, you’ll enjoy this!