REVIEW: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Publishing Information: 2001 (first publishing) 2002 (current edition)
Publisher: Signet, Mass-Market Paperback, 592 pgs
ISBN-10: 0-380-78903-5
Series: Standalone
Reviewer: Andy
Copy: Out of Pocket

Synopsis: (from back cover): Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.

Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.

He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same.

When I was a teenager, my favorite writer was Neil Gaiman. I remember rushing to New England Comics after high school to buy the next volume of the groundbreaking graphic novel series Sandman. I recall doing a high school book report on Gaiman's urban through-the-looking-glass series Neverwhere my junior year. I can recollect incurring the local library's maximum late fees for the dark fairy tale Stardust because I kept wanting to read it just one more time before returning it. I didn't hesitate to purchase my own copy of 2001's American Gods when it was released in paperback. However, sometimes life happens when you least expect it. I went off to college, with Gaiman's novel still sitting on my bedroom shelf, and waved away my fairy-tale comic-geek daydreams in the rear-view mirror.

This book has sat on my shelf back in a small town outside Boston for literally 10 years. When I had heard that this book was being converted to an HBO series, with Gaiman as part of the writing credits, I knew I had to read it immediately. I returned to my parents house and found the book on a shelf in my old bedroom. It didn't quite have that new book smell anymore, but it would serve the purpose.

Much like Gaiman's Sandman series, Gaiman's novel American Gods (as the title suggests) is about deities. However, where the Sandman books featured an original group of divine beings called the Endless, Gaiman turns to the real world's mythology for the inspiration behind this novel. Like Sandman however, gods are made real by believers - the beliefs of mortals. Since this is the case. all the pantheons exist making for a very crowded celestial realm. The premise behind the book is that the gods of the old world were carried over to America in the minds of immigrants when other cultures migrated to the U.S. However, now these old-time gods have fallen on hard times - they are pumping gas and turning tricks - just ways to blend in with mortals since no one believes in them anymore. Instead, Americans have turned to a new breed of gods that preside over over fast food, television, and the internet - a group that wishes to eliminate the traditional gods from existence. Therefore, this war of the gods is actually a culture war for the hearts and minds of America.

For a book written by a British guy, American Gods has a very sophisticated understanding of American culture. The story is stacked to the brim with American culture new and old, from big city cab-drivers to small town murders, from African-American to Native American, from road-side attractions to attractive road-side hitchhikers. Gaiman demonstrates the kind of understanding of American culture that could only come from someone removed by the culture - from one exposed to American pop culture in all its flavors. This is not a bad thing - Gaiman's appreciation for American culture shines and it provides the perfect setting for Gaiman's story. The amalgamation of culture that is America provides the perfect meeting place for what will result in a war among the gods.

The story is magnificently told. The surprises are subtle enough to be unpredictable but well-planned enough to be intuitive. The characters are extremely colorful and loquacious but the protagonist Shadow plays the perfect complement to them all. Shadow is a dull-witted ex-con whose common-sense wisdom could at first be mistaken for stupidity. Shadow is masculine in the way famous American tough-guys are - he can crack a few skulls and still remain a man of few words. However, with this book - I have a few complaints. Gaiman's unnecessary need to be literary doesn't always make it clear which gods the characters represent. A list of characters in the index would have been greatly appreciated. There are a few too many obscure dream sequences and simply unnecessary unrelated American stories - these certainly could have been whittled down.

If you are interested in mythology and American culture, certainly seek out this book. Fans of the Sandman graphic novel series will undoubtedly be pleased. However, if you are not a mythology-nerd or an American culture buff, the book's appeal may be easily lost on you. In short, if you are already a fan of Gaiman's work don't miss it. If you are not, you may only want to pick it up if you already find the concept of the novel intriguing.

Plot……….9/10

Characters………9.5/10

Style……….8.5/10



Overall……….8.5/10