American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001)
Uninteresting pontification
Book cover blurb
The storm was coming…
Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place.
On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose, accepts.
But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter -- all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does.
Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined.
All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought -- and the prize is the very soul of America.
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My Review
I suppose I should start this review with the fact that I did not finish the book. Sorry diehard Gaiman fans. Actually, the truth is, I couldn't finish it. I hit page 180, the beginning of part two and after trying my hardest to stick with it I simply had to call it a day. Honestly? I was just bored, and there are so many other books out there to try that it's crazy not to move on if a book isn't doing it for you.
Now, if you know my rating system (you can find it on the About page), you must be wondering why I gave a rating of three stars and not one for a DNF, as my rating suggests. Well read on and I'll try to shed a little light.
This is my first foray into a Neil Gaiman book. I know he has a big following and a large body of work spanning a good many years so I really wanted to see what he was all about. I was sure his work would be something I'd enjoy, simply because of his past success and the amount of readers who rate him highly. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
American Gods meanders along with no real direction or premise, at least up until the point I read to. Gaiman just seems to pontificate. We just seem to be subjected to drawn-out descriptions of a variety of observations the author wanted to get down on paper. Now don't get me wrong, meandering prose can be something I love. The thing is, the prose has to be good, mesmerizing, something that simply sweeps you away no matter what the premise is. And yet I found Gaiman's prose to be bland at best, which was an absolute shock to me. I was actually expecting brilliance from the man, which I know he can produce because I've seen quotes and snippets, but certainly not in these pages. That's the way I see it anyway, and with that, you'd definitely be expecting a one-star review. But no, read on.
I closed the book yesterday and gave myself last night and all of today to contemplate. What I realised was, there isn't anything wrong with this book at all, the problems I pick up from books I review tend to be what I think are technical issues, but here I don't think that's the case. There is no fault, there is simply a difference in tastes, it's just not my thing. But the thing is, after thinking about it, I can definitely see how this could be utterly absorbing for the type of reader with a certain mindset. I don't think this book is actually meant to be your usual beginning, middle and end story, I think it's meant to be an immersion into a seemingly normal world which regularly explodes with the fantastical. Perhaps Giaman's idea was to have the reader feel as bewildered and listless as Shadow, the main character, and I guess I like to have a defined premise, direction and complete explanations.
My copy of this novel
William Morrow hardback edition.
Published in 2001
465 pages
ISBN 9780380973651