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American Gods (American Gods, #1)

Neil Gaiman

Start date: May 1, 2014

Finish date: May 31, 2014

Discussion: Book/Genre of the Month

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What Members Thought

Jul 13, 2017 Monica Miller added it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

Stopped about halfway. Way too many descriptions, and I didn't particularly feel curious about what's coming next. ...more

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Oct 18, 2014 Melinda Brasher rated it liked it

This is the first Gaiman book I’ve read, and I can’t say I really enjoyed most of it. I believe Gaiman is a talented writer. The first part really drew me in, mainly due to Gaiman’s writing skill. Shadow’s time in prison and his release were intensely interesting. Then things started falling apart for me.

I’m not a fan of dream sequences or other hallucinogenic/semi-reality scenes, and there were TONS in this book.

I’m not a fan of things that would give a movie an R rating, and there were TONS i This is the first Gaiman book I’ve read, and I can’t say I really enjoyed most of it. I believe Gaiman is a talented writer. The first part really drew me in, mainly due to Gaiman’s writing skill. Shadow’s time in prison and his release were intensely interesting. Then things started falling apart for me.

I’m not a fan of dream sequences or other hallucinogenic/semi-reality scenes, and there were TONS in this book.

I’m not a fan of things that would give a movie an R rating, and there were TONS in this book.

I’m not a fan of long descriptions, and there were TONS in this book.

And, for heaven’s sake, I know there’s a war coming. You don’t have to tell me five hundred times.

I AM a fan of the overall concept: immigrants bringing gods with them, the gods losing power as faith wanes, etc. I found some of the god characters really interesting, and some of the back stories fascinating. However, I felt that the book wandered too much to really execute the premise well.

Terry Pratchett brilliantly addressed this general theme in “Small Gods”, and did it with charm and humor and a PG rating. If you weren’t quite satisfied with “American Gods,” try Pratchett’s take.

Back to “American Gods:” I enjoyed some of the endless parade of quirky characters that often just disappeared after their scenes. They were interesting, and it wasn’t a problem that they disappeared. It was when they re-appeared 400 pages later, and I couldn’t remember how they fit in, that it became a problem.

I think my favorite parts, besides the first, were the times spent in small-town Lakeside. I absolutely loved the stories Hinzelman told. Gaiman certainly has an imagination. Of course, Hinzelman’s later plot seemed a little out of place. Still, I liked that whole part of the book, and found myself wishing it took up a larger percentage of the novel.

Anyway, I think Gaiman is talented, and he brought up some really interesting concepts. I even highlighted some fantastic passages. Here’s one: “Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father….even, perhaps, against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrive, prospers, and triumphs over all opposition.”

The book in its entirety just wasn’t to my taste, and could have benefited from some more ruthless editing.

Warning: Explicit (and unnecessary) sex scenes and references. Excessive cursing, especially with what I consider the most offensive word. Brutal violence.
...more

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Jan 01, 2016 Maira rated it it was amazing

one of the best books in literature. A perfect amalgamation of Myth and Modernism and the Gods that were represented by these two vastly different set of believes. The concept of old Gods of mythology vs the New God created by technology and modernism is a very unique concept. It was beautifully written, fast paced and intellectual. Shadow and Mr. Wednesday were some characters that Gaiman created. BRAVO!

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Jan 02, 2019 R J Royer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

This book is a great read. Having accidentally packed mine while moving I decided to borrow a copy so that I could finish it for the new year.

Shadow, the main character, is tortured and amazing to follow throughout the whole book as he goes from being faithful to faithless while following his employer around for, what I think, is just so he can be tortured.

A wonderful read with amazing prose and style that you can only get from Neil Gaiman when he is at his best.

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Nov 05, 2017 Lavi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Really weird. Hard to follow for a while but I really enjoyed it after I got into it. I loved the weird way the gods were made to come to life and modernized. I loved the stories in between. They were very interesting. Kind of made me want to look up some of these gods.

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