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American Gods by Neil Gaiman (self.books)

submitted by EinUchiha

Yesterday, I finished the “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. I love the book but still there are some parts that I didn’t get, so I got on the internet to check for some reviews, explanations and others’ opinion. And to my surprise, I found that a lot of people dislike the book, especially the ending and Lakeside part.

For me, I really like this book. At first the characters don’t attract me, but later I found out that I feel a lot for them.

"You're not dead," she said. "But I'm not sure that you're alive, either. Not really."

This part when Laura was having a conversation with Shadow and later compared him to Robbie, it hurt him and also hurt me a lot. This conversation helped me understand much more about Shadow as a human. And it also made me realize that I do actually care for the characters and I just didn’t know it.

For the ending, I find that many people hate it because of how disappointed it is. And this is something I can understand, although I love this ending. I think the main reason I love this ending is that I am used to books that have unexpected ending with the build-up climax to actually crumble at the end and subvert my expectation (“House of Chains” by Steven Erikson came to my mind). It also maybe because I kind of predicted this ending the moment Shadow met Low Key/Loki, and was 90% sure when Mr. Town confirmed that Mr. World is Loki. Beside I think Neil Gaiman gave out many hints during the book that lead to this ending.

On the other note, I really enjoy some (philosophical?) passages in the book, especially the “There was a girl, and her uncle sold her” opening. I love that whole page/part of the book. Also the sentence “Outside the wind howled and wailed as if it, too, was seeking a lost child” hit me really hard and it still stuck with me till the end of the book.

For the downside, I did feel a little bit frustrated when I read this book. And the main reason is that I don’t know much about mythology and America culture. This made me always feels like I missed something about the Gods, the culture, the music reference, … It’s why I had to get on the internet to check for reviews, explanation,... for I felt like there are some part of the book that I didn’t get.

To sum it up, I like this book, I like the characters, I love the ending, I love the traveling around, meeting new people and exploring new places… But still I feel like I missed something due to my ignorance in mythology and America culture.

Finally, I had a question that I’ve been wondering since I was half way through the book. Why did Wednesday swear in Christian like “Christ” or “Jesus”? This always weird me out, did he simply do it because he was affected by the modern way of talking in America?

P/s: English is not my first language so please forgive me if I made any mistake or kind of repeat some word too many times since my vocabulary only work when I’m reading but not when I’m writing.

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[–]mistspinner 6 points7 points  (1 child)

cw: suicide

There’s a tiny scene with Shadow that sticks with me while he’s with Ibis and Jacquel, when he’s shaving and out of nowhere starts thinking about how easy it would be to cut his throat. He’s a very subdued character, so I definitely get why it takes people a while to ‘get’ him, but I’ve always seen that as a result of the fact that he also has about fifty layers of trauma (Laura, prison, watching his mom die as a teen, his dickbag dad)

[–]EinUchiha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I also found that scene powerful. It show what Laura later said about him not being alive. I think after his childhood he had become so numb to everything that he "doesn't want anything" (according to Laura) and Laura is the only thing hold him back. That's why her death made him go all out "fuck it" and followed Wednesday, later lead to this razor scene.

[–]Vegan_Harvest 4 points5 points  (1 child)

I'd say the Jesus Christ is just part of speech, I say it all the time and I'm a atheist, though I was a Christian as a kid. But I was never actually invoking a god, it's just how I talk.

As for the ending, that was really the only option, either stop them or not, at least if you want the book to end there.

I wouldn't worry too much about the internet reaction to the book, negativity gets more clicks than praise. Plus, as long as you like it, who cares?

[–]EinUchiha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't worry too much about the internet reaction to the book, negativity gets more clicks than praise. Plus, as long as you like it, who cares?

Yes. It's just that in my country I can rarely find anyone that read book or even English book at that (only 1 so far, and we sadly have different taste). So watching/reading review is my only substitution for discussion. Anyway, I'm agree with you that as long as I enjoy it, I shouldn't mind what others say.

[–]watchedclock 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Big fan of the book myself. Bought it when it first came out; both the novel and the audiobook. Bought it again when the 10th anniversary edition was released (audio with a full cast which was great).

I’m British and had never been to America when I first read it. I don’t remember anything in particular that I didn’t understand culture wise. Had never seen I Love Lucy but I knew of it from other media over the years for example.

Loved the characters and pacing of the book and liked both the main story ending and the Lakeside resolution. Lots of great ideas in the book that my imagination had fun playing with long after I finished reading the book.

[–]EinUchiha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the Lakeside resolution is good because it explain why the town was soo great and also showed that changes are coming whether the Gods want it or not.

[–]pencilbreads 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I loved it too man. Writing that manages to put ineffable themes into words. A story that creates an atmosphere of what America was in that day and age. What Gods represent, and the importance of their stories. I actually liked the unexplored stories that leaves it open to my imagination.

[–]EinUchiha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think most people believe in Chekhov's gun. When in real life, not everyone we meet is importance, and so not every thing have to start within the book and end within the book. I understand that rule, but still I find it fun when we have some open leads for ourself to figure out.

[–]absurdactuality 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I read this book a decade ago, and don't remember much, only that I did not really like it. This video by youtuber HelloFutureMe on his alternate channel helped me understand why I might not have liked it. My main take away for why I personally didn't enjoy American Gods was that it was a lot of cool ideas attached to the skeleton of a plot. Which is my takeaway because one thing I do remember is thinking "I guess we're going here now?".

As for missing parts of the mythology and culture, I'm definitely the wrong person to tell you this, but I don't think there was much to miss concerning the mythology involved and American culture. I say I'm the wrong person because I read a lot about mythology, and am an American. But yeah, I think anything you needed to know was pretty much almost explicitly said? again its been a decade since I read the book.

Wednesday swearing in "Christian" is just how we swear here in America. I'm an atheist and I use "Christ" or "Jesus" sometimes too. I wouldn't call it "Christian" swearing necessarily.

[–]EinUchiha[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this finally come to the taste and preference. And I totally understand why and why not someone like this book.

And for the reason I feel like I'm missing out. It is because I find that either the reviewer really dislike it or really love it, to the point that they put in on their top 5 book they ever read. And it's not only one or two but a lot of them. And for me, it's just a good book, not as bad as some say, but not that top read ever. That's why I hunt the internet for other reviews and to have a better understanding of the book.

[–]flix-flax-flux 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I don't remember many details about the book. But I know that I haven't been very impressed. I think part of the problem I had was that the main character was very passive. He is more of an observer than an acting figure. I can't remember any scene where his actions changed anything.

[–]EinUchiha[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe that is the reason Laura said "You're not dead, but I'm not sure that you're alive, either. Not really." It is because Shadows, with his traumatic childhood and all the recent event in his life, was he numb to all feeling. He doesn't want to live anymore and so he just kinda said "fuck it" and do whatever he was told to do. We can see it when he gamble with his life, when he tried to kill himself with the razor.

And ultimately, when he finally decided to do something himself, he feel alive.

There was part of him that felt gently exhilarated: he had done something. He had moved. It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't wanted to live, but he did want to live, and that made all the difference. He hoped he would live through this, but he was willing to die, if that was what it took to be alive.

Even Laura herself said that was the first moment she had ever felt like Shadow was alive.

And only after that, he actually do something, and his action changed the course of action for the whole story. If not for him, there would be war, just what every reader waiting for.