I just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Of his work, I've only read the Sandman comics before this.

Based on media about the television show, I was expecting this book to be a raunchy, flashy confrontation between gods, with backstabbing and conflict in every chapter.

First, I was surprised to realize just how much of the book is about the American experience itself. Immigration, cultural preservation, and religious practice all make sense as side themes. But I thought that the book was also a great exploration of noncentral/left-behind America through Shadow and Wednesday's road trips, visits to out-of-the-way places, and Lakeside. In a lot of ways, this book felt like a more grounded way of discussing drug addiction, rural decay, grief, and petty conflicts over small things than many books in the subgenre of post-2016 nonfiction that purports to give educated, urban readers a look into what "real" America is like between the coasts.

Second, this book made me feel a weighty sadness that I haven't picked up from many other pieces of fiction. By the end of each character's storyline - Shadow, Laura, Wednesday, the Egyptians, Hintzelmann - I felt weary. Gaiman brings up many characters' thoughts of suicide (and many characters commit suicidal actions), and the oppressive existence that the gods and humans of the book labor under was so well-constructed that it felt earned every time. And somehow, at the end, I felt hopeful. Shadow's post-climax journey - laying Laura to rest, singing with Anansi, helping Mulligan shepherd Lakeside into an uncertain future, resolving his bet with Czernobog, and meeting Odin - made me feel so much joy for him. I think it's one of the more well-done endings of any standalone that I've read (and changes the nature of the book in a way that seems comparable to The Scouring of the Shire).

Finally, Gaiman's prose is so diverse. The sheer number of perspectives that he's able to give a unique voice to; the shifting from dream to reality; the use of multiple styles of dialogue from traditional "he said" to more narrative, Cormac McCarthy-esque interactions.

In sum, this was one of my favorite fiction books of all time. I've read about ~200 books over the last couple of years and this is easily in my top five, if not right there at #1. I'm looking forward to reading more of Gaiman.

Edit: thank you all for the recommendations and thoughts on the book!