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"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman Length: 20 hours and 12 min. ISBN:   Listen to an excerpt with: Windows Media Player Real Player |
Reading this book I was reminded of a question Gaiman’s daughter asked when she interviewed him: “What’s harder? Writing for children or for adults?”. “Oh definitely children” came Gaiman’s reply “with children, I have to make every word count. With adults, an author can add bits to the story just because he likes them”.
American Gods is an imaginative and original novel where old gods still roam our world, new gods are born every day, and people are (for the most part) completely oblivious of this fact. The story revolves around Shadow, an ex-con with a good heart who gets caught up in a fight between the gods. I won’t reveal more to avoid spoiling the plot.
The reason that I included Gaiman’s comment at the start of this review is that there were times that I found myself thinking of this quote and mumbling “just get on with it!”, annoyed by Gaiman’s many tangents. Another pet peeve is Shadow: he has a chronic lack of curiosity that borders on the pathological. You’d think he’d be a lot keener to find out what the dickens is going on instead of just blandly accepting the fact that he’s palling around with mythological beings!
That said, I did enjoy American Gods and, if you like fantasy in a contemporary setting, I think you will too. Just remember that it’s a road novel, and most of the time that road is a little twisty scenic thing, not a highway. So try to relax, take your time, and read on…
Tags: neil gaiman, american gods, odin, loki, religion, fantasy
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