American Gods
Ratings1,627
Average rating4
4:
Phenomenal. I purposely spent long periods of time between chapters because I wanted to make my time with the story last as much as possible, which surprised me because this is a 750 page brick. I do admit that there were moments where the story dragged on a bit (I didn't particularly care for the Samantha storyline), but many parts of it I loved, and to me it... mostly made up for that. There was SO much going on but it was all nicely tied up at the end.
(I admit almost quit it right at the beginning, what with the whole man-eating-vagina deal. It was bizarre. But hey, I won't yuck your yums, Neil)
While the story is fascinating, I just don't think this book is for me. It got confusing at times, and it got draggy at parts and a little too complicated for my romance-addled brain.
“Now, as all of you will have had reason aplenty to discover for yourselves, there are new gods growing in America, clinging to growing knots of belief: gods of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon. Proud gods, fat and foolish creatures, puffed up with their own newness and importance.”
The symbolism, the nuance, the metaphors – I somehow could understand it, but yet it will take some time for me to digest it, to really comprehend the meaning. This book is a little too advance for me, perhaps.
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5
Incredibly unique book, that encompassed more than I ever could have expected. My recent reviews have been too reliant on spoilers, so I'll keep this one succinct and spoiler free.
It felt like this entire book was one big trick Gaiman was playing. He throws you into a setting of Middle America, as mundane as he can create, tempting you to lose focus or read with haste – yet the reader is rewarded for every tidbit of information they can hold onto, from the first moment they started chapter one. Excellent.
I just finished the other daughter by Caroline Bishop
Jess' life is falling apart, so when the opportunity to go to Switzerland and teach English to 2 small kids for the summer seems like the perfect escape. It doesn't hurt that her mother was in Switzerland when she was pregnant with Jess almost 40 years ago and Jess has questions. Her mother, Sylvia was there writing about women's rights but something happened while she was there and Jess is going to find out the truth....
This book was told from two points of view. Jess in the current day and her mother Sylvia when she was pregnant. Both points of views were exceptional and I really enjoyed watching Jess figure out what happened when her mother was pregnant. It was quite the emotional rollercoaster for me too. I imagine what it must have been like for everyone involved and how they must have felt and the author did an amazing job bringing that to life. I did shed a few tears so be prepared for that!
I actually enjoyed the parallel timelines and felt the book was really balanced and well constructed. The writing was phenomenal and I cannot wait to read more from this author.
The landscape of Switzerland was written with such richness, I felt like I was really there!! It also covered a lot of interesting topics including women's rights and what happened to the kids in Switzerland when the authorities took kids from their families and put them with “better families” and they were all used as basically slaves. I had no idea!
This book was brilliantly done and I highly recommend this historical fiction to any fan of the genre
5 stars. Thank you to @Simonschulesterca and to the author @carolinebishopauthor for my copy!!
Cannot tell you how amazing this book was!
This was my second time reading this, but the first time reading the anniversary edition with the additional content which was amazing. It has a little bit of everything - mythology, folklore, horror, fantasy, science fiction. One of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors, would definitely recommend.
This is my first time reading any of Neil Gaiman's works. I really did enjoy the book Neil's ability to describe everything is great and putting yourself in thr moment like you were truly there. What I struggled with is just the story itself, which really didn't pick up until towards the end. I just didn't think the story flowed all too well at points and the book fell a little flat.
Still would recommend the book, and will be reading Neverwhere next personally.
Overrated. The premise is cool, but the story itself was dull. The protagonist was devoid of personality.
Copy/paste from BLC: I thought the concept of the book was pretty cool, despite everything going over my head lol I think Shadow's journey and progression through all of this helped with that. He's such a nice guy and I thought his voice actor did such a great job with his role. The ending was really sweet, though I was sad about Laura ;-; I need a lot of brushing up on mythology, gods, and folktales, so I think that might be my next step before I tackle [b:Anansi Boys|57281615|Anansi Boys (American Gods, #2)|Neil Gaiman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614643230l/57281615._SY75_.jpg|1007964]!
**Read with Full-cast audiobook
3.5 - It was enjoyable but not something I would ever reread, although I would recommend others to read it.
Exactly the kind of gritty, convoluted, fantastical book I would expect from Gaiman. I loved this story, and found the characters so interesting and multifaceted. The climax and conclusion were exactly what I needed, and I found the whole thing riveting.
This book has quite the slow and meandering plot, seemingly getting distracted at every turn. The thing is though, that works with the content of the novel. In my mind while reading it I was just imagining this winding road that will eventually get us to our destination, but along the way we have to see the world's biggest ball of yarn, the Winchester Mystery House etc.
So something that would usually bother me quite a bit, does so less even though it's still not my preference of storytelling style. It also helps that I love the premise and I enjoy looking for the allusions towards mythological stories as well as enjoy the one's that are given explicitly. So even when it feels like the plot isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I'm always on the look out for that hidden god or reference to folklore.
Where the novel fails to grab me though is the main character. Shadow doesn't have much of a personality and little presence as a character. He has no pizzazz. No je ne sais quoi. What you see is what you get and all I see is a “big guy” that takes up space and little else. This is actually commented on within the book itself to some extent, so him being written that way is deliberate and it does serve a purpose within the context of the narrative overall. Even if I recognize that though it doesn't make his perspective anymore exciting. I don't love him and I don't hate him. He's just lukewarm and that's arguably even worse and it does really put a hamper on the enjoyment.
I rather enjoyed this book. Gaiman has a way of writing characters like no one else. My biggest gripe is the portrayal of the New Gods. I think they were a good idea, but things like making Technology a spoiled brat kid just makes Neil seem like a grumpy old man yelling “Get off my lawn!” There were a couple other things I could nitpick, but overall I thought it was a fun ride from start to finish.
This was the first book I have read by Neil Gaiman and I will definitely read other works by him.
I really liked the premise of the book and the main plot.
The structure of the book includes little side stories to the main plot, which I didn't always like and often wanted to skip because I felt they were interrupting me when I really wanted to know what was going to happen to Shadow.
The book includes a lot of mythology that I was unfamiliar with, forcing me to do some additional research. Having read it on kindle made it easier by allowing me to research some of the gods, but I ended up using “fandom” to better visualize some of the characters.
There is an annotated version that includes more details about the gods (including pictures) which may make the book more interesting and easier to follow.
I think it might be more interesting to read this book having a greater knowledge of Ameria so I will certainly reread it when I do a roadtrip in the US.
All in all it was a very interesting read.
Being the cheapskate that I am, I picked this up for nix! Well, almost. I swapped it for something in the many neighbourhood libraries I wander past in my daily walks that I do in my never-ending attempt to live for ever and become a god.
(Is Meili the god of walking? Walking is after all a form of travel. Is walking my Ambrosia?)
So this sat on my TBR shelf for what seemed an eternity (Aion is the god of eternity and also an album by the wonderful for all eternity band Dead Can Dance)
Until a young lass told me about a TV series called by the same name that she had watched an episode or two of.
(The modern god for all things media is in fact Media in American Gods, but in Australia the modern media god is in fact a US citizen called Rupert Murdoch who seems to be an immortal of some kind or other)
The young lass I made loan to was very keen on what she had been reading as she gave me periodical updates but made a complete stop at Chapter Eleven as she was off to get married.
(Parvati came to mind)
Brightly, I said I would read it and then hand it back to her after I had finished and she had come back from her honeymoon.
(May Anjea have been, or be kind to the delightful young lass)
Well, here I am writing a review of this rather good book.
(Is there a god of book reviewers? Troth maybe?)
And I enjoyed this.
(By Hedone I enjoyed it a hel of a lot and was that syncretic?)
There are now 826,000 plus ratings and 41,000 plus reviews on this here Goodreads so there is not much I can say about it.
(Seshat would be proud of those numbers.)
So I add nothing other than just don't take it all too seriously, as it is fantasy after all.
(Roger Zelazny is the American god of fantasy, Neil Gaimen has to agree)
Recommended to those of us that worship Anulap
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. Now I am going to go back and read the annotated edition to pick up on aspects of the story that I might have missed. I highly recommend this book to readers who are interested in a unique fantasy story that incorporates mythology and philosophical themes.
Took me like 50 years but finished! 3.5* it feels more like a cool concept and aesthetic than storytelling.I feel like the story doesn't make as much sense as I'd like. I just can't wrap my head around it
Unfortunately, I think the way I read this one stymied my enjoyment of it... between returning to the city, apartment hunting, moving, travelling... it was a fractured reading experience that prevented me from being able to truly immerse myself. Gaiman is an entertaining and assuredly imaginative writer, so it's a fun read. Not sure what genre to put this in... fantasy/sci-fi with a bit of a mystery twist? The concept is interesting, at a high level: that the gods our ancestors brought over from various cultures are eventually subsumed by the new deities of TV, computers, etc. But I think the message was a bit heavy-handed at times. Curious to watch the TV show, as I could see how it would lend itself well to the screen (is there irony there?).
Started out great, really promising. Then lost pace after the road trip started well and good. Could not be bothered reading on after the first 200 pages or so. Damn.
A book of strange, magical quality. On its second reading, it loses nothing of its charm, its mystique - there are always tiny details one forgets, pieces of the puzzle which didn't make sense the first time around. This is the book which inspired me to begin writing again. It is also the book I associate most closely with one of the most magical periods in my own life. Anyone who hasn't read it, should. Anyone who has, should read it again. Neil Gaiman is, without doubt, one of the best writers of fiction alive - if one of the oddest.
This was a pretty good, well-told story. I started reading this after I watched the TV series. Despite this being a good book, I felt the TV series was better. But I highly recommend both!