Chapters 16-END

[Caz (littlebookowl)]

Overall thoughts? What did you rate the books? Who was your favourite and least favourite character?

*SPOILERS GALORE DOWN BELOW*

[Anna]

Rated 3/5 for a msterfully created fictional world, complex plot & bizarre allegories!

But I didn't really liked the book nor did I hate it. The story dragged itself unbearably slow and the end was even slower (if that's even possible). I can't say I didn't like the ending cz by then Gaiman simply lost me and my interest & I didn't care much how it actually tied up. The characters are pretty one dimensional, no emotional investment here either.

It was tiresome waiting paiges for paiges of long, party unnecessary descriptions. I'm 100% with George Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing. Applied to American Gods this could've been an exiting (much shorter) book.
I've read the authors preferred version, which is longer but I doubt that the final version is any less dull.

The cutscenes were great but rather disruptive in the reading and understanding process. I liked it how Gaiman kept surprising (the patient) reader till the very end because I really didn't see that coming.

The only character I liked briefly was Sam, tho she's somewhat redundant in the story.
I certainly didn't like the impersonation of slawic gods cz they were simpy designed the wrong way, along with some other deities.

All in all, it was on okay-ish read, I wont pick it up again or recommend it to friends but I will try some other works Gaimans.

[Mary]

Anna wrote: "Rated 3/5 for a msterfully created fictional world, complex plot & bizarre allegories!

But I didn't really liked the book nor did I hate it. The story dragged itself unbearably slow and the end wa..."

You might want to try some of Gaiman's short stories or his children's works next. (Coraline is my personal favorite of his.) If you liked the gods aspect, I would recommend the Sandman graphic novels. They are more fast-paced than American Gods, but have some really interesting moments.

[Mary]

Sahiba wrote: "Rating- 5 stars
Favorite character- seriously difficult to decide because I did love Shadow so much but then I loved Easter and Jacquel and Ibis and Bast. The entire cast of characters was unique a..."

You'll be happy to hear that there is anther novel Anansi Boys and two novellas (which can be found in Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders and Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances)that involve characters of this novel.

[Mary]

I had to hold myself back when when they revealed that Wednesday was Shadow's father because I was in the library. I just wanted to pump my fist and the air and shout, "I KNEW IT!" Also when Loki was Mr. World and was in on it with Wednesday. Two person con? *imaginary victory lap* And then that Shadow = Baldur. I WAS SO HAPPY!

I knew that Loki and Odin were working together, but I had no idea it would be THAT BIG of a con.

I gave this a 3.5/5. Some stuff did not jive with me well, but other parts were very well done.

[Monika]

The ending was AMAZING! I feel like rereading the last few chapters all over again. Loki and Odin's plan was absolutely brilliant, and I just loved Laura's role towards the end. The book felt a little dragged out, though.
I would love to read more about the new gods.
I gave this a 3.5/5. I think maybe someone who's more knowledgeable about mythology and gods would enjoy this more.

[Snorre]

I'm pretty sure anyone going into this book expecting a regular story with a simple, or even an intricate, plot will be fairly confused and disappointed. Luckily, just about the only thing I knew about it was that it was not.

For me, the best parts of the book were not the main storyline, but all the other stories within. How different waves of immigrants came to America, how their gods came with them, and how they fared in their new country.

[Rachael]

The different cultures were intriguing and I really enjoyed the main story. I DID NOT SEE THAT PLOT TWIST COMING. It definitely made a slow ending a bit more interesting. There were times when I felt lost and confused. There was just so much going on. In the end, I rated this 3.5 stars.

[Connie]

I gave this a 4/5 rating. This is unlike any Gaiman book I've read compared to Ocean at the End of the Lane and Stardust. The last five chapters were a page turner and I loved how Gaiman tied things up so there weren't any open ended questions between the characters. Everything that happened in the end, made sense about Wednesday and Shadow, the missing kids at Lakeside, and the war...and THAT PLOT TWIST!!! That totally came out of nowhere.

What Laura did in the end for Shadow was admirable and a heroic act. I thought it sweet how Laura kept watching over him in the beginning (even though I couldn't figure out if she was a ghost or a zombie). My least favorite character would be Odin for obvious reasons.

Overall, I liked this book despite the slow development in the plot. It't not my favorite Gaiman book but I still enjoyed it.

[[deleted user]]

I'm not a huge Gaiman fan, but I have read and liked a few of his books. I was quite interested in this one, since I like mythology and odd stories and I don't mind slow books. However, I have to agree with Anna on this one.

When I actually found myself reading it, I did like it well enough. The characters were definitely colorful and the plot was as original as a story can get, but this book just couldn't catch my attention for a longer period of time. I kept having to force myself into reading it, which is why it took me so long to finish.

Overall, it reminds me of Great Expectations: reading it wasn't much fun, but afterwards I could appreciate it and agree that the story actually is good.

[Kassie]

I love Sam and shadow but as the story kept going I got more and more lost in the descriptive writing and the plot just seemed to go nowhere.

We await this almighty war between gods and then it doesn't happen and then the book keeps going ....

I listened to the 10th anniversary edition on audiobook and that was entertaining because it's fully casted but it still lost me especially toward the end

I also have to say that there are parts in the beginning that are stories separate from the stories and I found those so boring I wanted to skip them.

The most shocking part of this story was at the beginning when shadow gets out of prison and the guard simply states that his wife is dead. Some tears fell because it was so out of nowhere and BOOM. So I do commend that portion of the story it was great

[Kassie]

I love Sam and shadow but as the story kept going I got more and more lost in the descriptive writing and the plot just seemed to go nowhere.

We await this almighty war between gods and then it doesn't happen and then the book keeps going ....

I listened to the 10th anniversary edition on audiobook and that was entertaining because it's fully casted but it still lost me especially toward the end

I also have to say that there are parts in the beginning that are stories separate from the stories and I found those so boring I wanted to skip them.

The most shocking part of this story was at the beginning when shadow gets out of prison and the guard simply states that his wife is dead. Some tears fell because it was so out of nowhere and BOOM. So I do commend that portion of the story it was great