From the Bookshelf of Reading List Completists…

American Gods

Neil Gaiman

Start date: September 1, 2016

Finish date: September 30, 2016

Discussion: Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Winner - September 2016 - Modern Must-Read Poll
[close] Winner - September 2016 - Modern Must-Read Poll

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What Members Thought

May 10, 2014 RachelvlehcaR rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 03-library-and-borrowed, fantasy, myths-legends-ghosts-mysteries, contemporary, science-fiction-fantasy, 04-series-to-read-or-read, favorites-read-2015, 06-notable-reads-in-2025

Review on June 21, 2014
This is my first Gaiman book. It's very interesting and kinds of different from books I've read and what I was expecting. I'm recommending this book to my friend, she loves reading about myths. She just might like this book.

I really like the main character Shadow. He reminds me of the character The Maxx. The stories are not the same at all but something about him that just reminds me of him. Maybe it's he's a big tough guy that has a calm side to him, even if he has been i ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2014 Kirstin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"Man is quite insane.
He wouldn't know how to create a maggot,
and he creates Gods by the dozen." ~Michael de Montaigne

Welcome to American Gods, where roadside attractions are hallowed ground, ancient gods drive taxi-cabs and checkers is played to-the-death.

American Gods is an outstanding novel and now a favourite of mine. This is my first Neil Gaiman book and he writes with style. Like a cross between Stephen King and Tom Robbins, in the best way.

Highly recommended to anyone with a love of mag ...more

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Dec 05, 2017 Unabridged Bibliophile added it · review of another edition

No rating for non-completion.

I really hate to do this, but I got to the point where I kept putting it off and putting it off because I was not having fun at all and just dreaded picking it up.

There were some good times. Ultimately though, the boring, weaving, and nonsensical anti-plot got to me. I don’t know if there is a big “ah ha moment” at the end of this and I am past the point of caring.

I might come back to this one day, but that isn’t going to be for some time. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2014 Srividya Vijapure rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: srividyas-2014-challenge

Bizarre, surreal, quirky, funny, poignant and brilliant are some of the words that come to my mind as I set to review this book.

Definitely brilliant and worth every moment spent reading it for saying anything else would be pure sacrilege. That said, it does not mean that I never experienced the sheer frustration that most of us feel when reading, especially when that book does not move forward or does not reveal anything to you.

The story is of a man Shadow, who after being released from prison Bizarre, surreal, quirky, funny, poignant and brilliant are some of the words that come to my mind as I set to review this book.

Definitely brilliant and worth every moment spent reading it for saying anything else would be pure sacrilege. That said, it does not mean that I never experienced the sheer frustration that most of us feel when reading, especially when that book does not move forward or does not reveal anything to you.

The story is of a man Shadow, who after being released from prison finds out that his wife is dead and goes on to work for a man named Wednesday and there starts the actual story. What happens later is brilliant melange of theories, mythological as well as folklore, as passed on through the ages struggling to gain acceptance and acknowledgement in the face of the more modern theories and gods.

What makes the book truly interesting and brilliant is the fact that through all the stories and metaphors (numerous as they were), it transmits a simple truth what you believe is what IS! Many may accept while several will deny but the fact simply remains that it is your action that actually rules your life!

Another endearing factor about this book, which incidentally was also a point of frustration, was the writing style. It simply flowed in almost a poetic manner, which at times can be quite frustrating as you simply want the story to move ahead. There were several mistakes, grammatical and other errors, but the flow more than compensated for any irritations caused by these. :)

Would have actually given the book a complete five but for the frustrations that I underwent, especially in the middle, where the book's ramblings (Sorry if I have inadvertently insulted or hurt any literary gods as well as their followers) often forced me to simply put it away.

However, am glad that I stuck with it and completed it, for it is truly one of the best reads of this year. Will definitely recommend it to one and all, albeit with a caution that this can be frustrating in parts :)

...more

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Jun 21, 2014 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Mythology/reality; dead/other forms of dead; men/Gods/things in between/things beyond/others not already covered. Really it's not all that confusing, just keep an open mind and Gaiman will spoon feed your brain other worldly nectar.

The set-up: The old Gods and the new in a land that is no good for any of them, America. Shadow, a man that has found that his American home is not all that hospitable to him either, is being thrust into the middle of a conflict between deities (the aforementioned ol ...more

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Sep 12, 2016 James Joyce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aa-series-part-of, a-fiction, aa-have-a-copy, adventure, fantasy, other-dimensions

I like Gaiman. He's like a more mature, controlled Ray Bradbury. I've never read the comics, but I loved Neverwhere. And I really enjoyed American Gods.

Shadow, on early release from prison, attends his wife's funeral, gets hired by a god, is visited by his dead wife (“I’m cold, puppy.”), meets old-world gods and fey and heroes, serial killers and fortune tellers who lie (and even worse, fortune tellers who tell the truth), finds out where Americans really worship, and helps arrange a battle of ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 16, 2014 Jess Penhallow rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, usa, 1990s

This book is like nothing I've read before. Its so weird and wonderful but at the same time gripping. It is definitely a book you have to persevere with as I was comletely lost for about the first third. However once I stopped trying to follow it as a linear and literal story and just accepted that random things could occur at any time I began to really appreciate the imagery and characters and after that the story all came together. By the ending I was hooked. I cannot recommend enough. ...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, owned

Second reading 12/2016!

I will continue to hold this book on a very high pedestal. I learn something new about myself each time I read it. If there was ever a book that was etched on my soul...That changed my life...its this one-It's a bookworm's version of true love. And Sam Black Crow? She continues to be my first beloved character in literature. ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 MK rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Gaiman is an amazing talent. I think I want to read everything he wrote ... I keep worrying something will get TOO scary/suspenseful (cor me to read, 'coz I'm a wimp). Not yet! ...more

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Dec 26, 2014 Kim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was fantastic. The ending was beautiful and made me want more. I loved seeing all the gods and the stories interwoven into the plot. My only criticism is that you can tell Gaiman was a graphic novel writer which means his prose is fairly plain. But that's ok with me. I'm a visual thinker and whatever wasn't fully described by Gaiman my imagination went wild. I figure that was also part of the point of the book to let the imagination take its full flame. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

$ally ¯\(ツ)/¯$

Aug 05, 2013 ally ¯\(ツ)/¯ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2014, fantasy

I liked [parts of] it...
I honestly don't know how to review this book and seeing as no one has a gun to my head, I won't.
What I will say is I appreciate the writing, everything NG writes is poetic. He makes pretty things beautiful and he makes ugly things disgusting. ...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Brittney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I've read this book twice now, and I just absolutely love this take on gods and how they interact with our world. I've yet to find a book Neil Gaiman has written that I didn't like, so if you enjoy his other books, then you'll probably enjoy this one as well. ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Rachael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"Shadow shook his head. 'You know,' he said, 'I think I would rather be a man than a god. We don't need anyone to believe in us. We just keep going anyhow. It's what we do.' "

AHHH this book!

...more

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