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A review by jenny_hedberg
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
5.0
For some reason, it has taken me a long time to pick up this highly recommended novel of Gaiman's. It looks to be straight up my alley: Norse Gods are after all a part of my heritage; I tend to like everything fantasy; and my first impression of Gaiman, Stardust, was a good one. I have heard so much praise about American Gods by some of my favourite authors that I suspect I was afraid it could not live up to the expectations. So, it sat on my to-read shelf here on Goodreads, never moving anywhere. Then, after having gone into town without anything to do, I decided that it was time. I went straight into the bookstore, looked at all the other shelves before finally succumbing to fate (?) and taking American Gods to the checkout till. And that is how I ended up absolutely loving the book. After all, what is there not to like? Let's start at the beginning.
Our introduction to Shadow is perhaps not the one you would like for yourself; our first meeting with him is in prison. Shadow is a convict and a beaten man. He finds relief in having hit the bottom and I can't help but find Shadow to be a likeable character. Soon, things happen and Shadow finds himself in the "real" world and oddly pestered by an old man who will take him on a long and, at times, surreal adventure. Shadow adapts - nothing surprises him - and his ability to take everything in stride makes the surreality of Gaiman's story seem perfectly normal. We meet wonderful characters filled with brutality, humanity, mystery and personality. Gaiman is wonderful at painting a scene and giving his characters life and individuality.
What still baffles me is what the story is about. if I gave it some more thought, I could probably concoct some kind of theory for myself, but I'm in fact quite content in just having read American Gods and not thought too much about it for there are so many themes discussed and there is so much depth, I feel I could analyse it forever - as it is with books of true quality. This leads me to my conclusion. I'm happy and grateful I finally took the time to read American Gods, it was well worth my time. I would not read too many raving reviews as I think it is difficult to fully summarise all that is American Gods. If you have read Gaiman before, you will like this novel as much as you liked the other one(s), maybe like this one a little more perhaps. If you aren't read Gaiman before, give him a go. Your brain won't hurt too much, that's a promise.
Our introduction to Shadow is perhaps not the one you would like for yourself; our first meeting with him is in prison. Shadow is a convict and a beaten man. He finds relief in having hit the bottom and I can't help but find Shadow to be a likeable character. Soon, things happen and Shadow finds himself in the "real" world and oddly pestered by an old man who will take him on a long and, at times, surreal adventure. Shadow adapts - nothing surprises him - and his ability to take everything in stride makes the surreality of Gaiman's story seem perfectly normal. We meet wonderful characters filled with brutality, humanity, mystery and personality. Gaiman is wonderful at painting a scene and giving his characters life and individuality.
What still baffles me is what the story is about. if I gave it some more thought, I could probably concoct some kind of theory for myself, but I'm in fact quite content in just having read American Gods and not thought too much about it for there are so many themes discussed and there is so much depth, I feel I could analyse it forever - as it is with books of true quality. This leads me to my conclusion. I'm happy and grateful I finally took the time to read American Gods, it was well worth my time. I would not read too many raving reviews as I think it is difficult to fully summarise all that is American Gods. If you have read Gaiman before, you will like this novel as much as you liked the other one(s), maybe like this one a little more perhaps. If you aren't read Gaiman before, give him a go. Your brain won't hurt too much, that's a promise.