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jimsreadingandstuff 's review for:
American Gods
by Neil Gaiman
The premise of the book is there are a lot of Gods in contemporary America, but America isn't the best place for Gods.
There are two types of gods, the old gods brought over by the various immigrants and the new gods related to media, the internet, conspiracy theories and the like. A storm is brewing there are rumours of a war about to begin between the two generations of gods. Strangely the God of the Jews, Muslims and Christians is largely ignored. There is Easter but this is the pagan Easter, the goddess of spring and renewal.
The book is a meandering tale, and Gaiman is a good storyteller. The central character, Shadow has just been released from prison early, because his wife, Laura, had been killed in an automobile accident. He soon meets up with Wednesday, who it would seem is Odin, the Norse god, not the young girl in the Addams Family, brought over in pre-Columbian times by Viking explorers.
It is a fantasy tale that bleeds into many genres, there is a roadtrip feel, exploring the mid west states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. There are elements of horror, too and mystery.
The book could have had some stronger female characters, the only female characters of great interest are Laura, the dead wife, "Sam" Black Crow,a hitch-hiker Shadow picks up and Easter. There are a number of interludes describing how some of the settlers arrived with their various gods from their old lands. In the eighteenth century an Irish convict woman brings her belief in the little folk, leaving out a saucer of milk as is her tradition. African slaves bring their gods. The first Americans who came across the icy Bering Strait from Siberia brought their gods.
Our mythologies set the boundaries of our culture, and paradoxically, as our culture changes, our gods' influence on us wanes. They become in Wednesday's words "has-beens".
David Monroe wrote, "Anybody who tells you that the book is about old and new gods, or about a man named Shadow, or about coin tricks, or about having one's head smashed in for losing a game of checkers, is selling you a line, because those are just details, not the story itself."
This may not be a five star review but I definitely want to read more Neil Gaiman books after having read this.
"I'm a has been. Who the fuck cares about me?"
Shadow said softly, "You're a god."
Wednesday looked at him sharply. He seemed to be about to say something, and then he slumped back in his seat, and looked down at the menu and said, "So?"
"It's a good thing to be a god." said Shadow.
"Is it?" asked Wednesday...
There are two types of gods, the old gods brought over by the various immigrants and the new gods related to media, the internet, conspiracy theories and the like. A storm is brewing there are rumours of a war about to begin between the two generations of gods. Strangely the God of the Jews, Muslims and Christians is largely ignored. There is Easter but this is the pagan Easter, the goddess of spring and renewal.
The book is a meandering tale, and Gaiman is a good storyteller. The central character, Shadow has just been released from prison early, because his wife, Laura, had been killed in an automobile accident. He soon meets up with Wednesday, who it would seem is Odin, the Norse god, not the young girl in the Addams Family, brought over in pre-Columbian times by Viking explorers.
It is a fantasy tale that bleeds into many genres, there is a roadtrip feel, exploring the mid west states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. There are elements of horror, too and mystery.
The book could have had some stronger female characters, the only female characters of great interest are Laura, the dead wife, "Sam" Black Crow,a hitch-hiker Shadow picks up and Easter. There are a number of interludes describing how some of the settlers arrived with their various gods from their old lands. In the eighteenth century an Irish convict woman brings her belief in the little folk, leaving out a saucer of milk as is her tradition. African slaves bring their gods. The first Americans who came across the icy Bering Strait from Siberia brought their gods.
Our mythologies set the boundaries of our culture, and paradoxically, as our culture changes, our gods' influence on us wanes. They become in Wednesday's words "has-beens".
David Monroe wrote, "Anybody who tells you that the book is about old and new gods, or about a man named Shadow, or about coin tricks, or about having one's head smashed in for losing a game of checkers, is selling you a line, because those are just details, not the story itself."
This may not be a five star review but I definitely want to read more Neil Gaiman books after having read this.