American Gods (American Gods, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Jan 04, 2013 Rachael Sherwood rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013

Still unsure how to feel about this book.

It was fun to read, that's for sure. Gaiman is a great storyteller. His characterization is top-notch: subtle when it's needed (Shadow) or over the top fun when he is rendering mythological entities into modern day wanderers.

It meanders a bit, and I'm sure there are people who think it should be cut down, but I am almost always fine with meandering books. If I like the world and the characters, I am comfortable taking my time to get to the end of the sto Still unsure how to feel about this book.

It was fun to read, that's for sure. Gaiman is a great storyteller. His characterization is top-notch: subtle when it's needed (Shadow) or over the top fun when he is rendering mythological entities into modern day wanderers.

It meanders a bit, and I'm sure there are people who think it should be cut down, but I am almost always fine with meandering books. If I like the world and the characters, I am comfortable taking my time to get to the end of the story.

But by the end I was like Shadow, weary of the journey, tired of looking for connections that disappeared like a magicians coin, and wondering just wth is the point of it all.

Gaiman flirts with some interesting themes, but dashes off before we can really get to know them. And the absence of Christianity was very obvious, and confusing. Jesus is briefly mentioned in a scene that seems like a handwavey "Yeah, he's around but we're not going to bother with him."

Look, I get that writing that into this book would make it more difficult, messier, more...real, and that this book works because it revels in its dreamy surrealism, but the fact is: he wrote an entire book about American belief and gods without involving the one that did survive. Instead, we get cultural gods: Internet, Technology, Media. These, and forgotten made gods of the past, like the Railway, are what usurp the Odins and the Fates. Christianity is sort of hinted at in these conversations, but has no voice. Does anyone else find this odd? I mean, really? How can you honestly interrogate American belief without it?

A few reasons people have put forth:

1. Neil has said that he only used gods that "spoke" to him, so maybe Jesus didn't "speak" to him. Okay dude. Well, unless he has some kind of shamanic writing process, I would assume those gods "spoke" to him because he saw interesting story potential in them or because of personal interest. It's totally fine for him not to have any interest in Jesus, or be wary of using him because, whoa baggage. I would probably not want Jesus either. But given his body of work, I think we can reasonably assume that he is on "speaking" terms with all kinds of creatures in the Judo-Christian canon.

2. American Gods doesn't have any gods that people actively worship anymore. Nope. Kali, for example. Also, the whole point is that there are "new gods" or "more popular ones."

The beginning of the book had a lot of examination and discussion of homogenization and regionalism, and I think maybe a braver book would have pushed that further in an examination of religion and belief. But instead, as much as American Gods bills itself as controversial, it's actually a very mild-mannered book in the end. It reflects a certain kind of nostalgia & romanticism that is so vague as to not be offensive, or for me, particularly interesting.

Now I have spent a lot of text criticizing that aspect of the book not becuase OMG PUT JESUS IN I LOVE DA JESUS, but because I feel like the book never reached its potential, and while I am spending a lot of effort berating it, I really did enjoy it. Perhaps its just that some of these concepts are better explored in secondary worlds, like Terry Pratchett's fabulous "Small Gods." It is a good book when it could be a great book, and that has a tendency to frustrate. But it is still a very good book, and one worthy of discussion and thought.

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Feb 16, 2014 Sassafrass rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, mystery, fantasy, z-src-wi-13-14, z-challenge-books-2014, z-2014, z-2014-audiobook-challenge

Originally posted @ http://sassafrass.booklikes.com/post/...-

Great Epic Adventure!

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition (A Full Cast Production) [Unabridged] [Audible Audio Edition] - Neil Gaiman
This is a big departure for me. I'm usually into the romance genre, but I listened to this for a challenge over on GR and I'm glad I did. I could have chosen a book closer to what I usually read, but I am interested in books based on mythology after reading the Iron Druid Chronicles books.

So, her ...more

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