Reviews

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

melmmh's review against another edition

5.0

This is the best book I’ve read in years. I absolutely loved it.
Can anyone comment on whether or not his other novels have a similar writing style?

kdawn999's review against another edition

3.0

I listened to an impressive audio production of the author’s preferred version. Like all I’ve read from Gaiman, this book reads aloud well. I liked the main character, Shadow, though he’s a bit of a blank slate in the style of American Western male heroes. I kept getting him confused with the character Bobby Western since I was reading this alongside McCarthy’s The Passenger. Shadow likes coin tricks and is hung up on his dead wife, who, it turns out is only mostly dead. The parts of this I’m not sure I liked all that much happen to be the whole point of the book—the “American” gods who crossed to the continent inside the beliefs and heads of immigrants. There are several gods we encounter as roadside attractions on the big road trip Shadow and his boss go on. At the same time it feels like we probably don’t encounter enough or more could have been done with the mythologies of those there. My favorite bits were little storytelling chapters in between the main plot that gave us the stories of immigrants long ago, the ones who brought the gods. I wish we spent more time with these characters. I also really liked the murder mystery side plot in the idyllic town of Lakeside. The ending of the book, as the setting returns here, is satisfying.

There is something about the god bits that reminds me of Octavia Butler’s Patternist series—though Butler does the weird god bits better I think. Gaiman does go so far as to give us some grotesque sex scenes with goddesses, but I really didn’t want or need those. American Gods gives me the impression that Gaiman missed what he was on to in Sandman. Between this and Sandman, the latter is more captivating.

artichuth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

bungadinding's review against another edition

4.0

uh. keren banget. idenya, karakter-karakternya, plotnya... tapi sebenernya aku sebel sama (anti)klimaks dan endingnya >___< tapi, yah, sisanya tetep keren, tetep khas Gaiman. novel Gaiman paling bagus yang pernah kubaca malah, meski bikin mata jereng saking tebalnya :'|

rkragsdale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

jmcook's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

raeswainpage's review against another edition

3.0

This book meanders (which it's supposed to do!) but it was just a little too much for me.

zemthy889's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

sam_vimes_75's review against another edition

5.0

Part of the fun in reading this novel is in trying to figure out which characters represent which gods from which myths, and then rediscovering their legendary tales.

alicesayshi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

There’s a lot going on in this book. This is my first Gaiman novel; I wanted to love it but it wasn’t quite the book for me. Not ruling out other works by this author.