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Underwhelming, March 2, 2008
I grew up on New Wave sci-fi, and have seen this type of story before. It uses characters and plots we 'know' in disguise. The pleasure from such stories comes from two places - first, the magical 'aha' moment when we unravel their identities. Next, the finale, where the author reveals new twists on a familiar archetype.
Unfortunately, American Gods is bland. It lacks the crackle of Harlan Ellison, the startling brevity of Roger Zelazny, or the unsettling button-pushing of José Farmer. It felt 'done before'. I got bored and couldn't finish it.
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Amusing, February 23, 2008
I like his writing style and this was a fun, easy read. But there was nothing outstanding or gripping about it. It was overall just amusing.
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Finally, a good book, February 19, 2008
I picked this book off the shelf without knowing anything about it. This book was well written and full of twists and turns. At times, a couple of the scenes seemed gratuitous - just shock value for the sake of shock value - but from start to finish it was a great read. I had trouble putting it down. If you have even a passing interest in mythology this is a great book.
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Some of Gaiman's best work -- honest!, February 19, 2008
This book contains some of Gaiman's very best writing, and also encompasses an amazing number and variety of themes -- the place of the gods in humanity's scheme of things (and vice versa), the nature of belief and unbelief (and why they matter, or don't), and of life and death (which are not mutually exclusive categories), why America is fundamentally different from the Old World (and why it's the same, too), and what the point of it all is. Or perhaps there's no point at all -- and that's the point. From the beginning, when Shadow leaves prison to attend the funeral of his unfaithful wife and is recruited on the way by Mr. Wednesday (who is really Wodan, the All-Father), the reader slides into a world in which the old deities and supernatural beings of Egypt and Scandinavia and the Balkans and Africa and the Caribbean are caught in a struggle with the new gods of technology and television and drugs and the Interstate and the media. Which side will win? Which side deserves to? Shadow starts out as a driver/errand boy, merely an observer, but he ends as an important participant in the would-be war. But the war turns out to be something else, too. Part of the book is an extended road trip, a tour of America's true holy places -- most of them roadside attractions -- and convoluted, gray cities and perfect small towns. Along the way, Gaiman pauses to recount short fictions about the past and the gods' place in the world. Throughout, his style and use of the language are hypnotic, and his characters -- even the spear-carriers -- are multidimensional. This is especially true of old Hinzelmann, and Low Key Lyesmith, and Mssrs. Ibis & Jaquel, and Czernobog with his hammer, and young Samantha Black crow, and the technical boy, and most esecially of Laura, who loves Shadow beyond death. A gorgeous book.
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Mixed feelings, February 18, 2008
I have found this book a colossal puzzle, as I could not understand clearly what was the core idea of the author, in terms of the fight between the old Gods against the new Gods as well as the message one should understand from the epilogue of the book. On the other hand, the story telling is superb, in the pages related to "Coming to America" (events, times and characters of the ancient tribes crossing the strait of Bering, the African slaves era and the first settlers of the pre-independence times, that constitute key parts of the origin of the United States, Excellent are also the chapters about the opportunities and misfortunes the main character (Shadow) experiences and the characters he meets during his trip across rural towns in the Northeastern US.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Gods Aren't Dead, They're Just Getting By, February 18, 2008
Every so often, a book comes along that is sui generis -- in a class of its own, unlike anything else. Maybe it's Pynchon's GRAVITY'S RAINBOW, McCarthy's BLOOD MERIDIAN, or Marquez's ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. Neil Gaiman's AMERICAN GODS, while far from scaling those vaunted literary heights, nevertheless deserves to be singled out as an unforgettable, uniquely inspired novel of modern American life.
When Gaiman's story opens, a taciturn man known as Shadow has just received an early release from prison because his wife Laura died with Shadow's close friend in an automobile accident. On his way home for the wake and funeral, he meets a mysterious stranger who calls himself Wednesday (since, as the stranger asserts, that's today's day of the week). With a little persistent cajoling from Wednesday, the otherwise directionless and unemployed Shadow agrees to work for the stranger as his driver and general gopher. Thus begins a bizarre relationship between the two, combined with a picaresque road tale through much of America's central and north central heartland.
AMERICAN GODS is a difficult story to describe without spoiling its delicious surprises. Suffice to say, the book's title refers indeed to a large group of small "g" gods living below the radar, disguised in human form and struggling to eke out mostly meager existences. Gaiman's underlying premise cultivates the notion that every race and group of peoples who have traveled to or lived in America - ancient Egyptians, Norse Vikings, Irish settlers (with their leprechauns), African slaves from hundreds of villages and tribes, Hindus, American Indians - have each brought their worshipped gods with them. Those gods physically "took up residence" in this land, only to be discarded or forgotten over time due to their believers having died out or being assimilated into other religious beliefs. As their believers declined in numbers, those gods' power declined accordingly. Strength derives from belief, or at least a proxy for belief in the form of sacrifice.
Gaiman excels with his oddball characterizations of these sadly spent gods whose true forms Shadow is occasionally permitted to see. They constitute a panoply of memorable figures: quirky, irascible, and still haughty despite their reduced circumstances, yet entertainingly sympathetic for the human-like foibles that plague them. In another setting, they could be a collection of misspent souls from a Cuckoo's Nest asylum or cranky but vital oldsters from a retirement home. However, the author's efforts are not nearly so endearing, and far less convincing, in presenting America's new, unnamed gods of mass media and the information age, now the recipients of the country's attention and adoration. It is the threat of war, a final battle of the heavens, between the old gods and these 21st Century secular gods, that propels the novel's action. Not surprisingly, Shadow plays a far more important role in these proceedings than he could ever have imagined.
AMERICAN GODS offers a marvelous satirical view of contemporary American culture and life. The book is filled with clever notions and imaginative portrayals, such as the scene where Wednesday takes the too-human Shadow to a meeting held "behind the curtains" as it were, in another dimension accessible only to the gods. Perhaps the novel's biggest shortcoming arises from refusing to acknowledge (or even mention) the gods who still command human belief, such as Jesus, Allah, or Vishnu. Then again, Gaiman's view could be that these big "G" Gods are simply too powerful or busy to worry about the survival struggles of Norse gods and African tribal deities.
Regardless, AMERICAN GODS is enjoyable and delectably irreverent, a fun read with a creative premise and entertaining characters that will stop readers in their tracks and make them think. If only for a minute, that is, but at least long enough to give those small "g" gods a little energy boost.
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Genius!!!!, February 9, 2008
Mr. Gaiman has become one of my top ten favorite authors. He is able to paint characters that you swear you will meet on the street. I find I am transported to places where reality blurs and yet brings the real world into sharper focus at the same time. What an imagination! Thank you, thank you for many hours of fascinating reading.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Quite possibly my favorite Gaiman book, February 8, 2008
I have a lot to thank to Neil Gaiman. He helped to introduce my fiance and I back in college, even though we were strangers. And he wrote this book. It's a wonderfully imaginative and original story. You really sort of want to know more more more about the supporting characters. This book made me laugh a lot, but it's also fairly serious. It'll make you look around at your coworkers and the people on the bus a little differently. And maybe Gaiman will help you find your true love, like he did for me.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Good, but a little simple and obvious, February 8, 2008
The story-telling is good, and the characters are well developed. The imagery is well done, and you get a good feeling for the story and settings. I found myself a little disappointed, however, that the plot didn't go anywhere more interesting. The climax was so predictable that I found myself waiting for the next twist, but there wasn't one. A fun read, but it doesn't make a huge impression.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
My Favorite Gaiman, January 24, 2008
American Gods is the pentacle of Gaiman's eclectic imagination wrapped in a scrumptious story line full of introspective modernity... Just read the Damn Thing. No one behind a camera will ever have enough balls to make it into a movie....
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American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Mass Market Paperback - April 2002)
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