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A review by iangamiere
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Such a disappointment from front to back, considering how strong of a concept the book had. Marketed as a modern (read: 2001) spin on classic mythology with old gods facing off against the “new gods” of television, technology, and media. If this book stuck to that premise and depicted a real struggle between these two opposing sides with lovable characters to boot it could have been really good. Instead, we got a meta commentary on immigration and the melting pot that is culture in the United States with characters that offer no diversity and no substance. Make no mistake, this book is not action-packed, adventurous, nor exciting. If you consider literary fiction and examinations of the human condition to be loathsome, this book is quite literally a wolf in sheep’s clothing. By disguising itself as a fantasy novel, the book subverts your expectations from the very beginning and as such becomes boring once you realize what the book is really about. Don’t take this as my denouncement of literary fiction as a whole, on the contrary, I often enjoy well-written literature that has symbolic meaning (see The Catcher in the Rye). My problem lies in the expectations of the reader going into a fantasy novel versus the expectations going into a piece of high literature.
Even still, basing the novel on merits of its contemporaries in the literary fiction makes the whole thing fall apart very quickly. Characters are usually a strong point in this genre, and yet the only two characters who are even remotely fleshed out are the main character Shadow and his wife Laura. The former of which is infallible to the point of nausea, and the latter of which does not act of her own volition. Examining Shadow further, he is so one-dimensional in every aspect imaginable. For example, the way he looks. If Gaiman put a more detailed description of Shadow’s appearance at the beginning of the book, I couldn’t remember what it said with a gun to my head because of how often thereafter he is simply described as a big person. Did you know he’s big? If you didn’t, Gaiman will make sure you know by reminding you every other page. Looks aside, Shadow has no flaws whatsoever. Even though he was in jail at the beginning of the book, he has always remained a pure of heart, no questions asked, always does what he’s told character. Laura, on the other hand, does everything in herdead power to assist Shadow in his endeavors. Her calling Shadow “puppy” as a nickname is very ironic; if anyone is deserving of that name it’s her, following Shadow around like a lost puppy throughout the whole story. I won’t even get into the sexism of having the only fleshed out female character be relegated to the MC’s sidekick, but just know it is there. Part of the excitement of literary fiction is getting to know characters who are in some way deeply flawed and examining how that impacts their personal story and the story overall. With American Gods, you get none of this. Even the literal gods are one-dimensional.
“But all of this doesn’t matter if the writing is good, right?” To that I would say that the prose leaves nothing to be desired. The most common praise of this book is Gaiman’s writing and yet I cannot fathom why. Everything in this novel is laid out very clearly for the reader, too much so. Everything is told to you in such a matter-of-fact way that nothing is left to the imagination, and no scene is more beautiful or horrible in your head than it is as simply written on the page. Usually the point of telling the reader what happened instead of showing them would be to advance the plot along faster, and yet even that is not done here. The plot moves along at a snail’s pace, all the while being boring to the point of tears. Don’t even get me started onthe buildup of this impending war between gods just to have the whole situation diffused before a wink of battle is exposed to the reader. Embarrassing.
American Gods is always pitched as this masterclass in fantasy writing, that any “real” fantasy reader would be remiss to skip on this Gaiman masterpiece. I am here to tell you otherwise. You are no less of a fantasy enjoyer if you skip this novel, in fact I encourage you to do so. If you enjoy literary fiction, you may get more out of this book if you go into it with the mindset of reading high literature, however I feel your time might be better spent in other places. If anything, let this be a testament to the double-edged sword that is hype and high praise. One man’s treasure is so easily another man’s trash.
Even still, basing the novel on merits of its contemporaries in the literary fiction makes the whole thing fall apart very quickly. Characters are usually a strong point in this genre, and yet the only two characters who are even remotely fleshed out are the main character Shadow and his wife Laura. The former of which is infallible to the point of nausea, and the latter of which does not act of her own volition. Examining Shadow further, he is so one-dimensional in every aspect imaginable. For example, the way he looks. If Gaiman put a more detailed description of Shadow’s appearance at the beginning of the book, I couldn’t remember what it said with a gun to my head because of how often thereafter he is simply described as a big person. Did you know he’s big? If you didn’t, Gaiman will make sure you know by reminding you every other page. Looks aside, Shadow has no flaws whatsoever. Even though he was in jail at the beginning of the book, he has always remained a pure of heart, no questions asked, always does what he’s told character. Laura, on the other hand, does everything in her
“But all of this doesn’t matter if the writing is good, right?” To that I would say that the prose leaves nothing to be desired. The most common praise of this book is Gaiman’s writing and yet I cannot fathom why. Everything in this novel is laid out very clearly for the reader, too much so. Everything is told to you in such a matter-of-fact way that nothing is left to the imagination, and no scene is more beautiful or horrible in your head than it is as simply written on the page. Usually the point of telling the reader what happened instead of showing them would be to advance the plot along faster, and yet even that is not done here. The plot moves along at a snail’s pace, all the while being boring to the point of tears. Don’t even get me started on
American Gods is always pitched as this masterclass in fantasy writing, that any “real” fantasy reader would be remiss to skip on this Gaiman masterpiece. I am here to tell you otherwise. You are no less of a fantasy enjoyer if you skip this novel, in fact I encourage you to do so. If you enjoy literary fiction, you may get more out of this book if you go into it with the mindset of reading high literature, however I feel your time might be better spent in other places. If anything, let this be a testament to the double-edged sword that is hype and high praise. One man’s treasure is so easily another man’s trash.