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American Gods Book Review | Pajiba - Scathing Reviews for Bitchy People

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100 Books in One Year: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Cannonball Read / CatAg

Book Reviews | November 20, 2008 | Comments (58)

I loved this book and as a result it is nearly impossible for me to say anything constructive about it. It seems that intelligently told stories of gods and people reduce me to moron. I love it, I love it. Seriously I love it. I apologise now for the slightly disjointed nature of this review. I’m just going to talk about some of the things I loved.

First off this is a smart book. Do not let anyone tell you that fantasy or the oft associated science fiction are stupid. They’re not. Or at least not any more frequently than crime fiction and by my estimation significantly less than romantic fiction. This is particularly intelligent because it manages to mix many mythologies and theologies without ever being too heavy on the ‘Odin was a Norse god people believed x,y,x about him’ exposition. If you are interested in and know a bit about different mythologies then there are lots of lovely touches and jokes for you to enjoy; if you are not it will not matter a jot, it will still be an entertaining read.

Gaiman also manages to make many of the gods in to remarkably fully formed characters. Sure they’re gods but they have personalities, their behaviour in the context of the story always makes sense and Gaiman never resorts to having them behave a particular way to advance plot, and so he doesn’t have explain it away with ‘they’re a god so the can do that.’ Each god possesses entirely their own personalities, gifts and curses.

In the mythology of the novel gods arise from belief. I love the idea that gods and their power arise from our belief in them because it rings so true for me. You might not believe in Jesus or Mohammad but you can’t possibly deny their power and influence in the world, which stems from people’s belief in them. What compounds the excellence of the idea is the execution. Gaiman makes it work and work well within the context of this story.

The story centres round, Shadow a recently released ex-con whose wife was killed in a car accident. He finds himself drawn in to a war between the ancient gods and the god’s of modernity. For some of the book he seems to float around the landscape following instructions and rolling with the increasingly odd punches. He has the disconnect that is common to people who have recently suffered trauma or bereavement. It is testament to Gaiman’s skill as a writer that this works without him ever hammering you over the head with this is a person traumatised and without it ever feeling like he’s merely a cypher and not a fully formed character. His grief and distress becomes apparent through how he behaves and interacts with the world. It’s also there in how he begins to reconnect with the world. It is one of the better illustrations of a bereaved individual never resorting to histrionics or showy emotions in any work of fiction I have read.

I suppose the bottom line for me and why I loved this so, was the ideas. Ideas about divinity, humanity and how to be in the world. It’s a fantastical novel set in our world and ‘backstage’ in the world of the gods but it manages to ring true. It’s the truth of it that gets me. It tends to be what gets me about any work of fiction or art. It doesn’t have to be real but it has to be true and this is true. Read it.

This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. Details are here and the growing number of participants and their blogs are here. And check here for more of CatAg’s reviews.


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Comments

Great review, I think I love the book for all the same reasons.

Posted by: Melina at November 20, 2008 8:22 AM

If you liked American Gods, you should probably go read Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, Gaiman did steal the gods exist because of belief concept from him , after all. (It's okay though, Terry stole the concept of a female gothy Death of off Neil, so it's all fair)

Posted by: cockroach at November 20, 2008 8:28 AM

*Off of, even

Posted by: cockroach at November 20, 2008 8:29 AM

Be sure to check out the pseudo-sequel "Anasazi Boys" if you haven't, it's different but still great and set in the same world of Gods and myths. I'm currently reading Gaiman's new "The Graveyard Book" and am dreading it ending it's so good. After that I may re-read "American Gods".

I probably should join the Cannonball Read. I'll never make 100 books but 30 or 40 should be easily in reach.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 20, 2008 8:39 AM

cockroach I second the Terry Pratchett recommendation and furthermore if Good Omens is not part of the cannonball read there will be blood.

Posted by: thaf at November 20, 2008 8:50 AM

Easily one of my favorite books ever. Great review.

Posted by: TK at November 20, 2008 8:52 AM

I like my gods with giant monster vaginas.

Posted by: Snath at November 20, 2008 8:52 AM

Third on Terry Pratchett. Also his Eric is good fun - hell just leap into any of the Discworld and you can't really go wrong. If you have kids set them up with Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith. Good Omens is exactly as good as you would hope from those two teaming up.

Posted by: Megan at November 20, 2008 9:00 AM

I apologize as I feel like a crank this morning, but does this read like an 7th grade book review to anyone else?

Posted by: CR at November 20, 2008 9:05 AM

I don't know about Gaiman, I've been disappointed with everything since Sandman and Stardust. It's not that the books are bad, just that they are not as good as he thinks they are.

Posted by: ChrisD at November 20, 2008 9:10 AM

I loved this book too. It had been a while since I'd read something I couldn't put down, and this was a welcome return. I especially loved the bits where he was in the small town. It was excellent.

Posted by: Carrie at November 20, 2008 9:27 AM

Gaiman's gods are playful, vengeful, and given that he posits they exist only because we believe in them, quite logically, very human. American Gods is the mostly serious take on this concept, while Anansi Boys is the screwball comedy followup to it.

I think the problem a lot of people have with Gaiman is that they put too much "great work" cred onto it. He is ALWAYS playing with genres, trying to work some clever twist to the classic literary types. This doesn't always work completely well, IMO. Personally, I think he works best in short stories and children's literature...he does great with the less-is-more concept. Coraline creeped me right-the-fuck-out in a way like nothing else has -- it brought all those childhood insecurities front and center. (Strangely, my daughter who was about eight at the time took the ultra-creepiness in perfect stride.)

I feel the same way about Pratchett. My favorite books are those of his Tiffany Aching series (thought I'm also partial to his Night Watch books), because it's narrower and more focused storytelling.

Posted by: Wednesday at November 20, 2008 9:49 AM

I love Gaiman. I haven't read this one yet, but I have read, and loved, Neverwhere, Stardust and Anansi Boys. Nice review.

Posted by: erin b at November 20, 2008 9:52 AM

That next title mentioned by TylerDFC should be "Anansi Boys", (just in case you are looking for it in a library catalogue). And I too love Neil Gaiman's books. He always has something original to say that gets you thinking, even when the basic premise isn't always totally original.

Posted by: nemo at November 20, 2008 9:57 AM

Gaiman writes novels as if they were comic books, which is to say, in an immature style which I find annoying. He ought to stick to graphic novels, or failing that, fiction for young adults. I've read three of his books and I haven't liked any of them.

Posted by: Rotwang at November 20, 2008 10:13 AM

I actually enjoyed his books more than his comic work. Part of this comes from not knowing where to jump into this whole Sandman thing. I tried, don't get me wrong, but it just didn't do it for me.

Posted by: Optimus Rhyme at November 20, 2008 10:24 AM

@Rotwang so you're saying comic books = immature & annoying? Also Graphic Novels are just thick comic books. Don't forget that!

Posted by: Patrick C at November 20, 2008 10:27 AM

*sigh* American Gods


I love Gaiman.

Has anyone read The Graveyard Book yet?

Do it. I own every BOOK he's ever written bar only a few i cant find in the stores, and i'm working on every graphic novel and comic.

Oh oh.

Good Omens.


Please Add Good Omens to this list, please?!

Posted by: Nadine at November 20, 2008 10:38 AM

I LOVE this book. His other stuff I'm fine with, but I have always been in to mythology and anyone who can use it as such a vital force gets my vote. Also, Anansi Boys is much more fun, but I don't go back to it for yearly re-read like I do American Gods. Basically nothing else I have ever read by NG compares to American Gods. Although Good Omens is also awesome, in a completely different way (and I do love Terry Pratchett as well).

Posted by: Anne (in Reno) at November 20, 2008 10:54 AM

Nadine - I read The Graveyard Book last week. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. There were a couple of things I felt weren't well fleshed out. I might sit down for a re-read just to see if it was more because I read too quickly but I finished the book feeling that the idea was excellent but it was executed a little sketchily.

Posted by: Megan at November 20, 2008 10:57 AM

This is one of my favorite books. The writing is so tight - nothing is superfluous. My lit prof friend is teaching it this semester and just finished reading it last night. She noted obvious and intentional references and homages to Updike, Yeats, Irving, and more. I missed them, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. It is an incredibly well-crafted story.

Posted by: Reba at November 20, 2008 11:07 AM

I just read The Graveyard Book and it was good...really good. But American Gods is still his best work, imo, although Good Omens is a close second.

Posted by: CJ at November 20, 2008 11:08 AM

American Gods is an amazing book - it's one of those things that just sticks with you. Haha - part of that probably has to do with the fact that I was one of those kids who basically grew up on Greek and Norse myths. I'd definitely agree with the people above that it's probably his best work, although his short story collections are very good as well.

Posted by: Joe the Plumber at November 20, 2008 11:20 AM

Its a funny world: I just read this review and immediately went to order this book off of Amazon because it sounds right up my alley. I then see that the author of this book also authored Stardust which I have not read, but which just last night, kept me up until 3 in the morning with its awesomeness. The only reason I even began watching Stardust last night is because of the review on this website.

Posted by: Coco Bravo at November 20, 2008 11:34 AM

@Patrick C:
I'm saying what works in comic books does not usually work in longer fiction.

And yes, most comic books are immature. They are not annoying because the immaturity is expected.

Posted by: Rotwang at November 20, 2008 11:39 AM


Mr. Gaiman is one of the few people out there who can reduce me to slobbering fanboy. I think this is his best non-graphic book.

Posted by: Drake at November 20, 2008 11:46 AM

Sorry about the Anansi vs Anasazi thing, Nemo is absolutely right. I get those 2 mixed up in my brain for reasons unknown. For reference the Anasazi were an ancient tribe of American indians so I wasn't completely making crap up with my mistype.

For anyone interested Neil Gaiman's short story collection "Smoke & Mirrors" is far better than the newer "Fragile Things". Some really brilliant stories, especially my personal favorite "We Can Get Them For you Wholesale".

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 20, 2008 11:53 AM

I liked American Gods a lot, but I preferred Good Omens and Neverwhere. Great review, this is a hell of a book to try and write about.

Posted by: Julie at November 20, 2008 12:00 PM

Wow. I seriously hated this book. I'll have to give it another shot, it's been a few years.

Posted by: Be Adequite! at November 20, 2008 12:46 PM

I intensely disliked this book, and felt used once I had finished reading it. I like his graphic novels, but unless he's working with someone who knows how to write (like Pratchett), he's a big bag of fail at novels.

Posted by: Kat at November 20, 2008 1:23 PM

After you read the book, you need to make a trip to middle of nowhere Wisconsin to see the House on the Rock, www.thehouseontherock.com. The hubby and I both read the book prior to visiting and it was all the creepy weirdness that you could wish for. You could totally picture Shadow and the gods coming and going through the giant carousel. Of course, freeky geekiness aside as we walked into the carousel room my otherwise intelligent and mature hubby looked up at all the naked manikins with wings stapled to the ceiling and went "ooh boobies!" Ah love.

Posted by: Jennifer at November 20, 2008 1:53 PM

Who seriously thinsk the "Gods exist because we believe in them" idea is in any way new or made up by Pratchett? I'm rather perplexed here.

And oh, American Gods, I waited for that one to appear in the list.

Posted by: AbFab at November 20, 2008 2:01 PM

Oh Snath, that scene intensely disturbed me. I think I read it about 3 times and it left me feeling icky each time.

Did love the book, though!

Posted by: luckycat at November 20, 2008 2:40 PM

http://neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/Audio/cbldf_american_gods.mp3

As Salt n Pepa would say, this recording of him reading "Shoggoth's Old Peculier" is very necessary.

Posted by: Jay at November 20, 2008 3:22 PM

I have to second the love for Smoke and Mirrors. If you don't get a raging case of the heebie jeebies from "The Price", you are incapable of being frightened. I think I turned on every light in the house after reading it.

Posted by: Wednesday at November 20, 2008 3:36 PM

I LOVE Neil Gaiman. Love him. I've read nearly everything he's written and in my eyes, the man can do no wrong.
I recently finished reading Fragile Things and I loved it.

Seriously, when I grow up, I want to write like Neil Gaiman.

Posted by: Saint Saturn Sunshine at November 20, 2008 4:20 PM

PS: CatAg, you have perfectly encapsulated what's awesome about the book. It should be required reading for life.
Shadow has a little novella in Fragile Things about what he's done after the war. It's pretty fantastic.

Same with The Sandman. Annnnd Good Omens. And Star Dust. And Smoke and Mirrors.

Could I fellate Gaiman anymore in this post?
YES.

Posted by: Saint Saturn Sunshine at November 20, 2008 4:25 PM

Wednesday, I second the creepiness of the Price. It's some fine and fabulous horror.

Snow, Glass, Apples was freaky too, but I was so fascinated and thrilled by it. It was very much an Original-Grimm Brothers style story with a clever twist.

Posted by: Saint Saturn Sunshine at November 20, 2008 4:29 PM

I literally finished this book 2 days ago. It affected me so much that I haven't started a new book yet - I want to savor the lingering taste of this tale on my tongue for a bit longer. Most times I rush through books, more interested in the climax and resolution than the journey itself. This was not one of those. I took my time with "American Gods" and enjoyed every last word. "This is no land for gods" indeed.
I also want to echo all the love for Terry Pratchet in general (I have almost all of the Discworld books) and espcially for "Small Gods" (my fave Pratchett story, hands down, tho the Tiffany Aching series is right behind, mostly because of the Feegles.) And, of course, "Good Omens". "Omens" made me into that crazy person laughing to themselves on BART - it was freaking hysterical. If you haven't read any of these books, take thyself to yon bookstore post-hasty and get on it!

Posted by: maylai at November 20, 2008 6:52 PM

For someone who loves mythology this book was practically porn. Seriously, I was waaaay too into it.

Posted by: Stacy at November 20, 2008 7:24 PM

Hearing George Guidall say "when the prison shit went down, as prison shit always did" on the audiobook is also pretty amusing

Posted by: Jay at November 20, 2008 7:48 PM

If you are interested in and know a bit about different mythologies then there are lots of lovely touches and jokes for you to enjoy; if you are not it will not matter a jot, it will still be an entertaining read.

As a straight-up fantasy read, American Gods is pretty decent but the constant mythological inside jokes are what spark the little pee-shivers of love.

Non-myth geeks will find themselves plopped into a world where the references don't make a lot of sense (I surmise). Most of the people who hated this book probably don't know their freyja from their freyr. Read some bullfinch and snigger along with the rest of us. Pee-shivers will commence shortly.

Posted by: cheesemich at November 20, 2008 11:02 PM

I didn't really like this book, I have to say, despite being a huge Gaiman fan.

It felt sort of unfinished, like it lacked substance. I preferred Neverwhere.

Posted by: Ali at November 20, 2008 11:13 PM

Gotta disagree cheesemich, I'm a big mytho dork but I just didn't like the book. I agree with Ali- it seemed unfinished, lacking something.

I think I just need to stick to his shorter stories (S,G,A and Price) and get my mythology fixes elsewhere

Posted by: Be Adequite! at November 21, 2008 2:48 AM

Be Adequite!: Didn't you enjoy the bits of mytho trivia though?

It's like Sandman in how it's very spot-the-reference. The difference though is that Sandman can stand alone whereas you really have to nail most of the references to really enjoy American Gods.

There's a sort of Sunday-crossword-in-pen huzzah feeling to recognizing obscure Norse mythology trivia. Without that, American God's only mildly entertaining as opposed to obscenely clever.

Posted by: cheesemich at November 21, 2008 4:15 AM

So glad most of you seem to like the review. (Phew can keep the pajibacard for another week) Ta Muchly

I have read some Prachett but not Small Gods. I will put it on the list for the read instantly. Good Omens was there already. Is it sad that I am excited by the prospect of more books on the list? Probably not.

Posted by: catag at November 21, 2008 7:18 AM

I love Good Omens and Anansi Boys, but I just did not enjoy American Gods at all. I had high hopes for it, but found it to be too lumbering and almost, I don't know, self-serious?
(Definitely read Small Gods, it's great.)

Posted by: Ally at November 21, 2008 11:26 AM

I loved this book but HOLY HELL this is a VERY POORLY WRITTEN review... punctuation, ur doin it rong.

Posted by: beyonce at November 21, 2008 11:42 AM

Jumpin' in late on the Gaiman love but I will say: has nobody mentioned his short stories? Amazing. As far as I'm concerned, his short stories are his best work, full stop. They leave hot lines of fuckedupedness across my dreams for WEEKS.

Posted by: lizling at November 21, 2008 2:58 PM

Hooray! This is my very favorite book of Neil Gaiman's, and probably in my top ten favorite books I've read.

Posted by: velocibadgergirl at November 21, 2008 3:54 PM

Jay: Thanks for the link to the Shoggoth's Old Peculiar live reading. One of my favorite stories from "Smoke & Mirrors".

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 21, 2008 6:19 PM

American Gods was my introduction to Gaiman, and remains my favorite of his works, a contender for my favorite book in all categories.

The writing is rich with-out being stand-out. The imagery is inviting and alien simultaneously (which is really what I think Gaiman does best in his work across the board). Even the dialog is minimalist, I think CatAg is spot on when he mentions "the ideas". It's the strength and severity of the mythos that shine in AG.

Perhaps it could be read as an mythology professors wet dream, but I don't believe that's what Gaiman was trying to do here. His medium is mythology, but the story he's expressing is an entirely human one. *LOLZ SPOILER ALERT*And Shadow, for all his properties as "the Other" turns out to be the most human character in the story.*LOLZ END SPOILER ROFL*

What I appreciate about Gaiman is that he's a like a Romantic writer (More Blake or Bernard Shaw than Wordsworth of course) that's already living on the other side of the coin. His heaven is the kind I can believe in, and perhaps because of this, his [i]gods[/i] as well.

Posted by: Benji at November 22, 2008 12:01 AM

My first Gaiman novel - and I loved it. He's a genius!

Posted by: Diviya at November 22, 2008 4:30 AM

I would reccomend the entire Pratchett oeuvre for the willing Cannonball Read participant (I would do it, but alas, no blog). And I reccomend The Wee Free Men to aimless teens wandering around my bookstore all the time. Tiffany Aching and Granny Weatherwax - you'd be hard pressed to find two better role models. Besides, if I don't snag the poor things and point them in the right direction, they're sure to wander over to the Twilight table, and I just can't be having with that.
I have yet to read any pure Gaimen (by which I mean that I've read Good Omens) but like many others, he's on my list, multiple times.

Posted by: BiblioGeek at November 23, 2008 4:15 AM

wow. pajiba doesn't review too many movies anymore, huh?

what made the diversion posts awesome is that they were diversion posts, not the entirety of the site. guess i haven't missed much in the past eight months.

Posted by: ofthrees at November 23, 2008 6:22 PM

awesome. and you're moderating on top of it.

pajiba = idlyitw

Posted by: ofthrees at November 23, 2008 6:23 PM

What was that all about?

Posted by: Joel Robinson at November 23, 2008 11:23 PM

It doesn't have to be real but it has to be true

This is a great line.

I loved American Gods. And Neverwhere. And Good Omens, of course. Just don't get me started on Pratchett - I can talk about him and Discworld for hours :)

Posted by: ZzaRaZza at December 3, 2008 10:07 AM





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