Monday, August 12, 2013

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

This month for Book Club we read "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.  It is widely considered his masterpiece, and I agree!


This book sucked me in from the start.  It's about a man who just got out of prison (Shadow), and his encounters with "gods" all across America.  He is enlisted for help by Wednesday who is trying to round up all of the gods for an epic battle of old VS new.  

It's a fascinating story, and beautifully written.  Geneva said that the audio version is awesome too because they have different actors do each voice (which is always amazing!).  I loved reading it, and it was clear that Neil Gaiman went above and beyond researching gods, folklore, and the American landscape to create the novel.  Interesting that he's a British writer, but he painted such a strange and wonderful picture of America and what / why we believe things (or why we don't).  

Since most of the book had to do with the characters traveling across the country it illustrated the change of scenery from state to state, the changing weather and small towns, and the kitsch of road-side attractions and stops along the way.  It really felt like you were on a journey with them! 

I hope you get a chance to pick up this fantastic book.  I'm sure there was a LOT that I missed (there was a lot of symbolism and deeper meanings that we barely scratched the surface about at the book club meeting - people probably teach classes on it honestly!), so I'll probably read it again in the future.  

If you remember the name, Neil Gaiman also wrote "Stardust" and "Coraline" - more children's / young adult stories, but still a little dark and fantastical.  

And if you want to read an utterly hilarious encounter of the Bloggess and Neil Gaiman, read this.  I promise it will make you giggle. :) 

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