Anyone read/heard of this book? I read it recently and I found I enjoyed it immensely for reasons I find hard to explain. It's got kind've a desperate American spirituality to it. It's dark, mind you, really dark, but the vast majority of the pleasure of the book comes from the extremely clever imagination of the author, ie: putting the deities into modern life and making you guess who's who. It's a really character driven story, and if you know anything about Norse mythology you'll get an extra kick out of it. Although it might not be Neil Gaiman's greatest work, it did put him on the literary map, and is by no means a dull read.
What do you guys think?
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Yes. I read it.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
It was a fun book, but, for me, ultimately unsatisfying. I loved it the first time through, but not so much in retrospect. I prefer his short stories.
Posted by MegaMan (Member # 5979) on :
Neil Gaiman is awesome, and American Gods is, in my opinion, his least satisfying novel to date.
I really enjoyed Neverwhere. Speaking of which, has anybody seen the BBC series of Neverwhere?
Posted by Scythrop (Member # 5731) on :
It's a while since I read it, but as a long time fan of Gaiman's I remember grabbing it as soon as it came out, and for the first two thirds of the book, feeling as though that decision was well and truly justified. the last third, however, left me comparatively unenthused.
There is something about Neil Gaiman's storytelling which I find unique - but with American Gods I found that the longer the story progressed the less engaging it became. From a couple of startlingly original opening chapters, the book sort of slid back towards just average storytelling by the end.
I enjoyed the book overall, but really feel he could have done something more with it.
Posted by Desu (Member # 5941) on :
I also read it a while ago. I remember getting quite a kick out of it, a very interesting read indeed. In retrospect i'm beggining to think that there were traces of exsistentialism in it, it remindes me of 'l'etranger' by Camus.
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
I have a friend who made it his mission to get everyone he knew to read American Gods. It was my first Gaiman. I definitely liked it, but I can't say whether it was better or worse than his other works. I did read Coraline. Very, very good. I've got quite a few items on my reading list, but I'd like to read more Gaiman eventually.
The book did serve as an example during a conversation about religion. My friend and I were discussing the idea of a one true God. She liked the concept from the book of gods existing simply because people believe in them. I think that may be a discussion for another thread, if it hasn't been debated to death already. However, the point is that American Gods, whether or not it's Gaiman's best work, is a story that brings to light a lot of valid ideas and questions.
[edit to fix spelling]
[ December 02, 2003, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: fiazko ]
Posted by Gottmorder (Member # 5039) on :
My friend read it, my other friend then read it, both said it was good. I saw it at Borders, thought 'what the hell' and bought it. I'm glad I did. Since then, I've read several other Gaiman books.
quote:"Hey," sad Shadow, "Huginn or Muninn, or whoever you are."
The bird turned, head tipped, suspiciously, on one side, and stared at him with bright eyes.
"Say 'Nevermore'," said Shadow.
"**** you." said the Raven. It said nothing else as they went through the woodland together.
Best conversation right there.
[ December 02, 2003, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Gottmorder ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I mostly didn't like how there was basically another book inside the bigger book, namely the horror story of the small northern town; even though the idea tied into the whole lost myth theme.
Anyways, anyone here figure out what Shadow's first name was?
SPOILERS
* * *
It was Baldur.
Posted by Jestak (Member # 5952) on :
I thought it started out slowly, progressed tediously and ended horribly. The idea was good, but not original, my paster has been preaching for years about the TV "god" and Tech "god" that we worship. I though the scene with Lucy flashing was funny, but other then that, I disliked it.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I believe the ending was meant to coincide with the Norse myth of Ragnarok, which I thought was pretty clever.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Hm. Sounds like it's gotten a decidedly mixed (is that an oxymoron?) reception.
Has anyone read Gaiman's short story collection Smoke & Mirrors? I think it's much better.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Hey, Book ! I haven't read 'American Gods', but I recommend Roger Zelanzny's 'Lord of the Light' to you and all the other 'god-fans' who posted in this topic.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Just in case someone decides to look for the books based on that recommendation, I should point out that it's spelt as "Zelazny", and the correct title is Lord of Light.
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
*sigh*
I thought I received my first tribute thread.
Darn that Neil Gaiman. Darn him straight to heck.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
I did love that book...
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Thus far, of Gaiman's work I've read American Gods, Stardust, and Good Omens, and have liked all three. Actually, Good Omens is one of the few books that has ever made me laugh out loud.
I was having a conversation with celia about American Gods the other day. I liked it quite a bit, but she didn't. She ended up never being able to care about Shadow. Me, I thought the story was a neat idea, and I dig stories that put a mythic spin on America.
::shrug:: I guess it's not for everyone.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Yeah. I, personally, really liked Shadow.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
It's an excellent book. I liked Shadow but Laura was even cooler. I wonder if the thing about the kobold is true... If people really did that. Can anyone tell me?
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I remember first hearing about a kobold as like a leprechaun, only furrier, like an animal of some kind. I can see how that can evolve from the lucky child's corpse wrapped in furs. But as to certainty, google turns up a lot of foreign pages, so I still don't know how accurate that is.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
quote:I thought it started out slowly, progressed tediously and ended horribly
I agree! I was beginning to wonder if it was just me after reading this thread!
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
The concept of creating a fetish out of a sacrificed animal or human is pretty well documented in comparative mythology. Life, especially magically sustained life, springing from death is a dominant theme in many mythologies. Jesus said something like, "If a seed does not fall to the ground and die, it can't grow into a great tree." Many earlier religions focused on this idea in somewhat different ways. Cyclical events, such as the rising and setting of the sun or the changing of the seasons and thus the planting, growing, harvesting, and death of plants were assosciated with the idea of death and ressurrection or literal rebirth (e.g. the Egyptians myths have the sun impregnating his moon wife/mother as he died each night, and her giving birth to him each day...kind of makes the phoneix an onamism reference).
In regards to the gods being created by human belief, I've had a random idea of people as a sort of theogonic sperm. That is, gods create us so that we, through our acts of free will creativity create other gods. We're how they reproduce. I don't know, I think it's a neat idea, but I'm into comp myth and post-modernism, so you've got to expect that sort of thing.
Oh, I liked America Gods on the first read through, but I wasn't as blown away as I was with other Gaiman book, Sandman and Neverwhere to be exact. However, after reading Neil's thoughts on what he was doing and rereading it a few times, I find that it's grown on me. I think he does do an interesting job of capturing something american in the book.
Posted by BelladonnaOrchid (Member # 188) on :
Ha! And I afraid that this thread was going to be about Paul Bunyan or some other nonsense. 'American Gods' sounds like a book that I might enjoy. I'll have to put that on my list to read after 'Memoirs of a Geisha' (sp on Geisha?).
I can always depend on Hatrack to point me towards Barnes and Noble once more.
Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
Love Gaiman. Dug Neverwhere. Have not read American Gods yet.
Squick - check yer e-mail, woman.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Why yes, I am interested in learning how to increase my breasts up to two full cup sizes. Thanks for making sure I checked that out Ralphie.
Hey, you wanna see my webcam?
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Yeah, I think Sandman might be his greatest, so far... But he's working on a new novel right now. Think it might be the sequel to Neverwhere, supposedly to be called The Seven Sisters. Also, someone is supposed to be making a Neverwhere movie, independent of the miniseries.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Mr. Squicky, I think you're crossing the parable of the mustard seed with the grain of wheat. There's no tree in the one you're looking for -- "unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies it remains just a single grain; but if it dies it bears much fruit."
Not that it really matters, since it fits your point just as well either way. It's just that I happen to be working with that particular text right now, so it caught my attention. Carry on.
Oh, and I enjoyed American Gods, although my attention wandered at a few places.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
oh yeah, that's the one. I couldn't think of the exact quote. There were some other one's from other places getting in the way.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
I guess no one's read Smoke & Mirrors? Posted by Ralphie (Member # 1565) on :
I have.
I seriously dug his take on the Snow White fable, and the story he wrote for the newly married couple.
Posted by ae (Member # 3291) on :
Yay! I liked those too. My favourite, though, is "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories". That one makes me want to give up writing. Posted by Celtic Flame (Member # 5556) on :
I just finished reading "American Gods". Overall, the book was a great read for me. The ending kind of bugged me though. I liked the very end, the last chapter...but the stuff about the betrayal, the two man con near the end didn't fit so nicely IMO. Maybe I just wanted Wednesday to be this good god he couldn't have been...I'm not sure. Anyways, I'm definately hooked on Gaiman now, and I'll be checking out some of his other books.
There was one god in the book that fascinated the hell out of me...the god who's name Shadow can never remember. The one created from the sacrifice of gambling. There's potential for a whole short story just on that one god.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Yeah, when people ask him at signings about that god, he says, "I'm sorry, who?" And they ask again, and he says, "I don't recall him... Do you have a page number?"
Super frustrating.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I have a friend (surprise!) who's been making me read all of her Gaiman. After I gave her Ender's Game, she's been trying to pay me back for creating an obsession. Enter Neverwhere. I really enjoyed that book, so she gave me American Gods. And after that, Coraline. All of which I enjoyed.
I think I enjoyed the mythology of American Gods more than the story. Don't get me wrong - the story was good, but I really liked how he put the Norse and Egyptian gods in an American, and more specifically Midwest, context. I like thinking that ancient gods still exist in some form. Yes, I am a Classics student with too much imagination I'm also a sucker for any book that's even partly set in Wisconsin.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Let me recommend Good Omens again, too, although it's mostly a Pratchett work.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Gaiman did the Four Horsemen, though, which were my favorite.
Anyone here think Paul Simon's "Duncan" would be a great theme song for American Gods, if they ever made it a miniseries or something? I think so.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I borrowed American Gods from a neighbor a few days ago and am a little ways into it. So far I just keep thinking that it isn't nearly as funny as Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul, but otherwise almost exactly the same. Hopefully this will change soon.
Otherwise I like it a lot, I like Shadow, and most of the other characters introduced so far. But I keep getting sucked out of the story when I examine details to try to guess what will happen next, or who a particular god might be. I need to let myself get pulled in and be suprised when I find out.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
If you think it is (edit: almost) exactly the same as Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul, I don't think you are reading it the right way. The basic premise is somewhat similar, but besides that, they have almost nothing in common.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by Book: Anyone here think Paul Simon's "Duncan" would be a great theme song for American Gods, if they ever made it a miniseries or something? I think so.
Hm. I love the song, and I love the book, but I don't really see how they go together.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
quote:If you think it is (edit: almost) exactly the same as Long, Dark Teatime of the Soul, I don't think you are reading it the right way.
Oooh! I had it upside down!
Maybe "almost exactly" is a bit of an exageration, but where I am in the book, which is admitedly not that far, the similarities are more than "somewhat": A third party human discovering that the old gods are all still present in the world, but are reduced to lower than human statuses, except for in extreme situations. A new form of god appearing because of technology and peoples belief in it. Okay, I guess it's kind of a stretch. I'm sure AG will diverge significantly soon, but the comparison has struck me several times so far, and like I said, I'm not that far into it.
It's probably just a common theme and these are the only two books I've read incorporating it.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I really enjoy Gaiman's work, and I think American Gods might be my favorite of his. I really enjoyed the whole book.
I'm really surprised that so many people here didn't like it much. I thought it was great.
Posted by Nathan2006 (Member # 9387) on :
I read it, and felt stupid, because I really felt that there was a whole layer of meaning and depth that I missed (My fault, not Gaiman's). It's one of those books I'm hoping I'll understand more on the second read.
Also, I went to a really tough summer program, and was kind of really stressed, and freaked out... And so, reading American Gods kind of aggravated the situation for me. As luck would have it, the next book I read was A game of Thrones. Again, not the best book for that time, for somebody as impressionable as I am.
I've got Anansi Boys from the library, and I'm about to read it (After I finish The Other Wind)
BTW: Somebody has a sn of 'Megaman'. You're my new favorite.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Nathan, You probably did miss a whole layer of meaning and depth. There's a lot of mythology (both the stories and the themes) wrapped into the book. One of the things that Gaimain started out with was the idea of not just "What if the gods were real?" but also, "What if the rules laid out in the myths were real?"
To me, it was his handling of the mythologies that was the most powerful thing in the book, but I think it make take a pretty good grounding in it in order to appreciate that.
Posted by Fyfe (Member # 937) on :
quote:Originally posted by MegaMan: I really enjoyed Neverwhere. Speaking of which, has anybody seen the BBC series of Neverwhere?
Me, I have! I am awfully fond of it. It does some things catastrophically wrong, and there is this exasperating footage of the Beast that comes up over and over again and is plainly just a cow, but the casting is overall superb. Croup and Vandemar are great, Richard and Door are on the good side of fine, and there aren't sufficient adjectives in the English language to describe how excellent the Marquis is.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Meh. I read it, it was okay, but nothing spectacular and not, to me, worth a second read. I was bored in many places and thought it dragged too much.
Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, on the other hand, totally rocked. Posted by Sterling (Member # 8096) on :
It was a good and worthwhile read, but I think I liked Anansi Boys better.
Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
quote:Jesus said something like, "If a seed does not fall to the ground and die, it can't grow into a great tree."
Um, no he didn't. The closest thing he ever said was, that you had to lose your life to save it. He also said a mustard seed can grow into a large plant. He never compared a seed to death. Unless you are talking about a different Jesus person.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
I started reading it and then stopped because I couldn't get into it. The only other Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere and I thought that was only ok. I do want to read Stardust though.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Ok, yeah, it's nothing like LDTotS. I'm really enjoying it so far. Especially the long winded speech by Sam about how she believes everything. I want to get the whole speech tattooed on my back (not to cross threads or anything), under the heading "I believe nothing, Everything is sacred / I believe everything, Nothing is sacred".
The book is also really fitting in with the latest religion quiz we had here, which told me I'm a neo-pagan. I can dig it.
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Me, I have! I am awfully fond of it. It does some things catastrophically wrong, and there is this exasperating footage of the Beast that comes up over and over again and is plainly just a cow, but the casting is overall superb. Croup and Vandemar are great, Richard and Door are on the good side of fine, and there aren't sufficient adjectives in the English language to describe how excellent the Marquis is.
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