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"This Is a Bad Place For Gods..." Aug 3, 2001 (150 of 167 found this helpful)
Released from prison shortly after the accidental death of his wife, ex-con Shadow finds himself free, but bereft of all the things that gave his previous life meaning. As he bids his farewell to the fragments of that life, an eerie stranger named Mr. Wednesday offers him employment. Wednesday needs someone to act as aid, driver, errand boy, and, in case of Wednesday's death, someone to hold a vigil for him. Shadow consents and finds himself drawn unsuspectingly into a cryptic reality where myth and legend coexist with today's realities.
Mr. Wednesday, trickster and wise man, is on a quest. The old gods who came over to this country with each human incursion have weakened as their followers have dwindled and are now threatened with extinction by the modern gods of technology and marketing. Wednesday travels from deity to deity, rounding up help for what will be last battle. He engages ancient Russian gods, Norse legends, Egyptian deities, and countless others who have found their way to America in the past 10,000 or so years. Shadow never quite understands what his role is in all of this, but he experiences visions and dreams which promise that he is far more than Wednesday's factotum.
The plot is unendingly inventive as it treks its way across the country. From Chicago to Rhode Island, and Seattle to the magical town of Lakeside, Shadow's journey seems to follow the back roads of America. The people he meets are gritty, and the gods are even grittier. Gaiman creates believable characters with quick brush strokes and builds vivid landscapes that belie their mundane origins. Gaiman, recently moved to the U.S. has invited us along on his own quest to discover an America uniquely his own.
This is a novel that resonates at many levels, it is Shadow's initiation quest, Gaiman's search for the American identity, a revisionist Twilight of the Gods, and last, but not least a captivating piece of fiction. The gods that people this story came with people who found their way to this country from almost every time and place. Gaiman has put his finger on once of this country's greatest truths. Every person who ever lived here has roots from somewhere else. We have crossed oceans and land bridges, on foot, and by every other means of transportation. Our culture has been created whole cloth out of the character and beliefs of all those people. Gaiman has managed to capture a bit of that vision and put it on display for the reader.
After his superb work in "Neverwhere," "Stardust," and the Sandman graphic novels, Neil Gaimon has established himself a force to be reckoned with in the crossover horror/fantasy genre. Now with his new novel Gaiman establishes his mastery in a remarkable story of quest and transformation as he comes to terms with his own vision of America. "American Gods" defies classification and invites superlatives. This is one of 2001's must reads.
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Neil Strikes Again Jun 20, 2001 (36 of 38 found this helpful)
After waiting several years for Neil's new book, I hungrily devoured the 400+ page "American Gods" in just over two days. The story follows Shadow Moon, recently released from prison, as he comes to work for a man simply known as Wednesday. Wednesday is a peculiar old man with a frightening knowledge of Shadow's past and an amazing talent of swindling people who introduces Shadow to many fascinating characters, who it is later learned, are all transplanted Gods endeavoring to hold on to life all across America.
Gaiman explores the sacred power hidden in the kitschy roadside attractions doting the landscape of America's many back roads; their once glorious power waning as people worship more modern cultural icons and ideas. The sprawling story pits the forgotten gods America's immigrated citizens brought with them to the new land against the high-tech gods of modern living in a war for the very right to be worshipped. Shadow is pulled headfirst into the dispute and ends up playing a crucial role in the upcoming battle. The meanings of life and death, self-worth, spiritual beliefs, and redemption are all explored with Gaiman's witty intelligence.
Gaiman's ability to entwine multiple plot lines with clever cultural critiques while maintaining fantastic character descriptions and an engaging narrative solidifies the fantasy/horror author's place as one of the world's best storytellers. Much more than a magical tale of combating Gods, Gaiman paints a picture of a melting pot left too long to boil, and a country who worships the next big thing a bit too easily and with little consideration for it's ancestry.
Definitely worth buying, and undeniably worth reading (all though you might want to slow down a bit more than I did!). And while you're at it - check out "Stardust" and "Neverwhere", you won't be disappointed.
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The joy is in the journey Sep 24, 2001 (63 of 75 found this helpful)
I have read all of Gaiman's novels, as well as the Sandman graphic novels. I'm a fan of urban fantasy, and, needless to say, I'm a fan of Gaiman's work. I was especially anxious to read American Gods because a good portion of the story takes place in my home state, Wisconsin (home of snow, ice and Culver's custard.) I was not, generally speaking, disapppointed. American Gods has everything I like about Gaiman's stories.
The story opens with Shadow, the protagonist, being released from prison a week early to attend his wife's funeral. Shadow is a big man, strong in both stature and integrity. On his way home, he meets Mr. Wednesday, who offers Shadow a job as bodyguard. The pair travels the American heartland, drumming up support for a coming spiritual war. Along the way they meet a host of unlikely characters, includ and thugs with names like Mr. Town, Mr. Street, Mr. Woods and Mr. World. And not least among this cast of extremely interesting characters is Laura, Shadow's deceased wife who spends most of the book bailing Shadow out of tight situations. And rotting.
I docked the book 1 star because, in my opinion, the ending fizzled. Also, interspersed through the book were short stories that were removed from the main storyline. These were a nice break between chapters, and offered insight to 'the coming war' in other parts of the nation. For some reason, these stories stopped about 1/3 of the way through the book, and I sort of missed them.
In summary, I think that American Gods was a far stronger effort than the last book of his I read, Stardust, but not as good as Neverwhere, or Sandman.
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Definitely not a light vacation read Aug 29, 2002 (29 of 33 found this helpful)
If you're looking for a good book to take on vacation to read in your hammock while listening to the waves lap along the shore, sipping your lemonade, basking in the sun, generally feeling quite pleasant about life, "American Gods" is not the book for you. However, if your goal is to be taunted and confused, yet strangely fascinated, then you should definitely pick up Neil Gaiman's latest novel. "American Gods" is a complex story about humanity and the moral fabric of faith, which is changing rapidly in our increasingly modern world. A thought provoking and intriguing read, Gaiman's story is rich with mythic characters and bizarre interactions. His messages about culture and society are all at once dark, humorous, cynical, depressing, insightful, enlightening and at times, gruesome.
American Gods depicts the journey of Shadow, a man just released from prison with nothing to lose, who takes a job for a mysterious man, Wednesday. His life takes many severe, dark and strange turns as he accompanies Wednesday on visits with other complicated characters. He soon finds out he is dealing with different deities from various parts of the world, who now try to survive in America. The group of gods is preparing for some kind of war. Shadow tries to stay impartial by simply doing his "job" without getting personally committed to the cause. However, somewhere along the way, his conscience leads him to discover more than he ever wanted to know about what is really going on between the supernatural forces, who all hold stakes in the culture and future of America.
Gaiman skillfully brings in many legendary, religious and mythological figures throughout his intricate plot. The true identities of these layered characters are riddled and hidden amidst different plays on words and clever uses of symbols. For example, Wednesday seems to obtain his name from the simple fact that it is indeed a Wednesday when Shadow meets him. However, the reader will soon figure out that the word Wednesday originates from Odin, the primary god from Norse Mythology. As the reader witnesses more of Wednesday's actions and personality traits, it becomes clear that Odin is in fact Wednesday's true persona. Wednesday reveals: "' I told you I would tell you my names. This is what they call me. I am called Glad-of-War, Grim, Raider, and Third. I am One-Eyed. I am called Highest, and True-Guesser. I am Grimnir, and I am the Hooded one. I am All-Father, and I am Gondlir Wand-Bearer. I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die,'" (Gaiman 103). This is the case with many other individuals in the novel; their identity is slowly revealed over the course of events, the use of names with hidden meanings and connections to other characters. The facades are well constructed and later deconstructed as the plot surges along. This aspect of the book, while very effective for those readers familiar with various mythologies of the world, is sometimes over laden with references to events and symbols of the various deities. It's admirable to include such a wide variety of worldly figures, but somewhat detracting from the story if as a reader, too much extra research is necessary to understand the associations.
The use of supplemental "Coming to America" inserts is also a skillful yet time consuming venture for the reader. Upon first read these excerpts may seem out of place and unrelated, but after thoughtful review, are actually giving us a more rounded viewpoint of the gods' existence in America. The stories range from African gods to creatures from Oman to a woman from Cornwall, England who worships piskies.
If this book were to have a movie rating, it would possibly be NR (not rated). The language is often times harsh and abrasive. There are some very detailed and explicit sexual encounters, which although not gratuitous, do have readers wondering if it is necessary for the story's momentum and meaning. T
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Sacred fun on the road with Odin and the gang. Aug 11, 2001 (17 of 18 found this helpful)
How ironic when the Great American Novel is written by an Englishman! The absolutely elfin Neil Gaiman earns himself a lasting place in American literature with this novel. There are echoes of Hawthorne, Melville, lots of Lovercraft, and more than a smidgen of Kerouac here. While wonderfully providing quirky and fascinating personalities for all his mythic cast, the characterization of the Egyptian cat goddess Bast (a Gaiman essential from his Sandman days) and of Whiskey Jack, from Native American folklore are quite unforgettable. But most amazing of all, is the precise and flawless capture of the quintessence of the American character. Mr. Gaiman's scalpel-like intuition and perception of who we are as Americans is awesomely brutal and unflinching. Few writers born on this side of the Atlantic understand and portray it a quarter as well. This would be an excellent choice for academic study, but that detracts nothing from the fast-paced, page-turning excitement and sheer joie de vivre. Life-affirming literature and a rollicking good time --- can't ask more of a novel!