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carol. 's Reviews > American Gods
American Gods (American Gods, #1)
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American Gods, a meandering tale of a book, took me at least two tries to get through, despite my gravitation towards urban fantasy.. The concept of "old versus modern" gods is an intriguing one, and I can always get involved in themes of belief, stories and myth. It didn't always work, however, and was completed at stuttering pace. Transitions can be rough, and it's not always clear where a particular chunk of narrative is heading. I feel like part of it is that we have indeed lost the old gods, and many people need a little background on Gaiman's creatures in order to appreciate the tale he's telling. Often it's well done, but at times it interrupts the flow of the narrative.
I often enjoy Gaiman's imagery, although occasionally it's self indulgent, seemingly for the sake of being shocking, like the woman that swallows a man through her vagina during sex, and a dead person vomiting maggots.
A few loose ends don't particularly seem pertinent, (view spoiler)
I'm never particularly moved by Gaiman's use of language, but he has a deft hand at characterization. Characters and ideas are clearly his strengths. I loved some of the old gods, and thought Mr. Nancy and the Chicago family particularly well done. The new gods were less well done, though the concept is a fascinating one. Most of the time is spent on the internet/tech and media gods, and they are done well enough to be immediately annoying. However, the pantheon gets a little fuzzy at this point, particularly in Gaiman's decision to largely leave out "modern" organized religion--as Anubis and Bast and such were worshipped by Egyptians, it seems fair to acknowledge Jesus as more than a hitchhiker in Afganistan. I wonder if he avoided it for complexity? Controversy?
The voice and tone is narrator is emotionally removed from the story, but I felt it suited the tone and scope of the novel well. I liked Shadow and felt he was a very believable character for a while. Emphasizing his numbness and distance helped explained how he could be so blase about the return of his dead wife and Mr. Wednesday's abilities. It's interesting that after his initial questioning and challenging of Mr. Wednesday and the leprechaun, he accepts the rest of the magic at face value.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. (view spoiler)
Worth noting that I sold my copy to Half Price Books, because it's space on the shelf was worth more than the slim chance of re-read. Two-and-a-half stars, rounding down because my memory assures me I don't want to touch it again.
I often enjoy Gaiman's imagery, although occasionally it's self indulgent, seemingly for the sake of being shocking, like the woman that swallows a man through her vagina during sex, and a dead person vomiting maggots.
A few loose ends don't particularly seem pertinent, (view spoiler)
I'm never particularly moved by Gaiman's use of language, but he has a deft hand at characterization. Characters and ideas are clearly his strengths. I loved some of the old gods, and thought Mr. Nancy and the Chicago family particularly well done. The new gods were less well done, though the concept is a fascinating one. Most of the time is spent on the internet/tech and media gods, and they are done well enough to be immediately annoying. However, the pantheon gets a little fuzzy at this point, particularly in Gaiman's decision to largely leave out "modern" organized religion--as Anubis and Bast and such were worshipped by Egyptians, it seems fair to acknowledge Jesus as more than a hitchhiker in Afganistan. I wonder if he avoided it for complexity? Controversy?
The voice and tone is narrator is emotionally removed from the story, but I felt it suited the tone and scope of the novel well. I liked Shadow and felt he was a very believable character for a while. Emphasizing his numbness and distance helped explained how he could be so blase about the return of his dead wife and Mr. Wednesday's abilities. It's interesting that after his initial questioning and challenging of Mr. Wednesday and the leprechaun, he accepts the rest of the magic at face value.
I have mixed feelings about the ending. (view spoiler)
Worth noting that I sold my copy to Half Price Books, because it's space on the shelf was worth more than the slim chance of re-read. Two-and-a-half stars, rounding down because my memory assures me I don't want to touch it again.
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Quotes carol. Liked
“I can believe things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not.
I can believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis and Mister Ed. Listen - I believe that people are perfectable, that knowledge is infinite, that the world is run by secret banking cartels and is visited by aliens on a regular basis, nice ones that look like wrinkled lemurs and bad ones who mutilate cattle and want our water and our women.
I believe that the future sucks and I believe that the future rocks and I believe that one day White Buffalo Woman is going to come back and kick everyone's ass. I believe that all men are just overgrown boys with deep problems communicating and that the decline in good sex in America is coincident with the decline in drive-in movie theaters from state to state.
I believe that all politicians are unprincipled crooks and I still believe that they are better than the alternative. I believe that California is going to sink into the sea when the big one comes, while Florida is going to dissolve into madness and alligators and toxic waste.
I believe that antibacterial soap is destroying our resistance to dirt and disease so that one day we'll all be wiped out by the common cold like martians in War of the Worlds.
I believe that the greatest poets of the last century were Edith Sitwell and Don Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman.
I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumble bee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself.
I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck.
I believe that anyone who says sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too.
I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a baby's right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system.
I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”
― American Gods
I can believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis and Mister Ed. Listen - I believe that people are perfectable, that knowledge is infinite, that the world is run by secret banking cartels and is visited by aliens on a regular basis, nice ones that look like wrinkled lemurs and bad ones who mutilate cattle and want our water and our women.
I believe that the future sucks and I believe that the future rocks and I believe that one day White Buffalo Woman is going to come back and kick everyone's ass. I believe that all men are just overgrown boys with deep problems communicating and that the decline in good sex in America is coincident with the decline in drive-in movie theaters from state to state.
I believe that all politicians are unprincipled crooks and I still believe that they are better than the alternative. I believe that California is going to sink into the sea when the big one comes, while Florida is going to dissolve into madness and alligators and toxic waste.
I believe that antibacterial soap is destroying our resistance to dirt and disease so that one day we'll all be wiped out by the common cold like martians in War of the Worlds.
I believe that the greatest poets of the last century were Edith Sitwell and Don Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman.
I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumble bee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself.
I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck.
I believe that anyone who says sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too.
I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a baby's right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system.
I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”
― American Gods
Reading Progress
July 22, 2011
–
Started Reading
July 22, 2011
– Shelved
July 25, 2011
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 57 (57 new)
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Momentai
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rated it 4 stars
Apr 20, 2012 11:32PM
What a surprise, didn't know you read this to. Though Shadow was cool, Gaiman has a thing for writing characters like that. And yeah, that ending...
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I feel the same way, I am liking it but not "really" liking it.
Yes, a very emotionally removed book.
I never thought of it like that. Thanks Helen.
Even his Gaiman's wife Amanda Palmer, in the interview you forwarded, said something to the effect that she could not get into American Gods!
Helen--I didn't know it at my first read, but you are right--I think there was an easier-to-understand plot parallel if you knew. Thanks!Jalilah, rather funny, hmm? They make an interesting couple. Very creation-driven.
Yeah, it probably doesn't work out well for someone who is not enough of the mythology geek to recognise at least half of dramatis personae...and even more if it's one's first Gaiman. I love it, but I'd think before reccing it.(You're welcome - it's nothing, really.)
A nice summation of all the problems. An enjoyable book but sadly with some problems. And even after reading it still can't understand the mostly universal praise. But than taste's do differ.
Daniel wrote: "A nice summation of all the problems. An enjoyable book but sadly with some problems. And even after reading it still can't understand the mostly universal praise. But than taste's do differ."Thanks, Daniel, and you are absolutely right--tastes do differ! :) Glad Gaiman has so many fans--after all, its still about books.
I often enjoy Gaiman's imagery, although occasionally it's self indulgent, seemingly for the sake of being shocking...This has been my experience with the (mostly aborted) Gaiman books I’ve read. Thank you for the review!
Even some of his characters...usually the bad guys..are cardboard. Comic book feel to a portion of just about every book he writes...
Carol. wrote: "I wouldn't disagree, Claudia. [spoilers removed]"Daniel wrote: "A nice summation of all the problems. An enjoyable book but sadly with some problems. And even after reading it still can't understand the mostly universal praise. But than taste's do differ."
I read somewhere, but I can't remember where, that because many of Gaimans' fans are from his Sandman series, they were not familiar with other fantasy writers and therefore thought Gaiman was doing something new with American Gods, when in reality many authors had done this before him. Like I said, I don't remember where I read it, but it definitely rings true to me.
Lila, that makes quite a bit of sense, and dovetails with Claudia's perception of cartoonish villains. It also makes sense to me in perception with his writing, which I think it geared towards more shocking/startling imagery than characterization (like the abovementioned vagina dentata).
The vagina dentata, though, comes from done Native American mythology. I think he, like de Lint, really is looking for a way to merge the continental storylines, but he has absolutely no authority here. My first Gaiman was Neverwhere, which I read w a bunch of SF writers. I was REALLY struck by the comic book villains in that case, but they were less bothered by it. Reason: they liked comic books.
Even though they were serious readers and writers of SF. Also, plot mattered more. Honestly there are a lot of plug and play characters in genre fiction. Not to mention formulaic plots. Some people like that. Many people LOVE The House at the End of the Lane, but I thought it was just a trope mashup. It was the last Gaiman for me...I'm just not his reader. It's okay...I'm not Mieville's, either. Or Murakami's.
Claudia wrote: "merge the continental storylines, but he has absolutely no authority here."No authority, and no skill with it. I felt like it was more to be a shocking, one-note appearance (which, as is now pointed out, kind of like a comic book) and if it draws from mythology, so much the better. It was crude enough that I wouldn't even attributed it to Native; there's other traditions and modern folklore with the same imagery. But obviously it worked in the vivid sense, because here I am talking about it years later.
Congratulations on making your way through he whole thing! I didn't get far, in 2 tries.
Thanks! Your travails with this one reminded me of how hard it was for me to get through.
Great review, Carol! It captures how I felt about this book...I have DNF’d it twice (maybe three times) over the years. I really wanted to like it because the ideas behind it are so great, but I just couldn’t emotionally connect with Shadow. In fact, with the exception of The Ocean at the End of the Lane (which I loved), this seems to be the nature of my relationship with Gaiman; a great idea writer, but characters feel flat.
This was my least favorite of all Gaiman's novels and the only one I skimmed to finish.
Thanks, Mark. I agree; the emotional connection lacked for me as well. I think I took ten years between attempts. Agree, Allie!
So, big idea books with cool interstitial bits like Moby Dick or Grapes of Wrath or AMerican Gods... may have weak endings but be forgiven for the journey. Heck, I feel that way about Heart of Darkness. Sounds like you didn't enjoy the ride much
Troll level: amateur.
I have no idea if you still remember this book (I think I actually forgot about it the moment I finished it), but this is an excellent review!
Thanks, Nefeli. Most of it was very forgettable.
I'm one of those people who read the book after reading the Sandman comics. I read Neverwhere, too. Re-reading my notes (not really a review), I remember the disappointment at the ending. Maybe a re-read is in order, though I think the rating would drop. I admit, after this one, I haven't read anything by him since, and I think that may be telling.
Thanks for sharing, David. I guess Helen's thoughts in msg #5 tell more about the framework of the ending, but yes, anti-climactic for me. Definitely not worth your re-read time. I think this was my first Gaiman (read near to publication date) and it did turn my off for a long time. I liked his YA/New Adult type stories better.
Yes, I found Helen's explanation very helpful. If I'd known my Norse mythology a lot better, that probably would've made it much clearer.
Excellent review Carol. You verbalize some of my subliminal issues with the book quite well. I didn’t write a review, but I left the book feeling unsatisfied, though there was much that was admirable about it.
Thanks, Mona. Glad I could help articulate some of those feelings.
I wonder if my love of this book holds up on the reread or if my old warm fuzzies for this story resurface. All the points you make in your review are really valid.
I wonder, but I suspect you would still enjoy it. I think one either loves Gaiman or doesn't. I do better with his younger-aimed works. I think, ultimately, it took me three serious attempts at this one over many years.
carol. wrote: "I wonder, but I suspect you would still enjoy it. I think one either loves Gaiman or doesn't. I do better with his younger-aimed works. I think, ultimately, it took me three serious attempts at thi..."I loved Coraline and The Graveyard Book, both were stellar. And among the adult ones I loved Neverwhere (I like reading about weird cities and cities within the cities and an-cities (Mieville comes to mind now, too) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane was great.
I guess I do love Gaiman...
That's okay. I still like you.
I’m with you here, Carol. I loved Coraline, a children’s book, but am not a fan of Geiman’s adult fiction. I was pretty disappointed in American Gods
carol. wrote: "That's okay. I still like you."Phew! I was getting worried there for a moment.
Ha! Sillykins. There's only one person you could say you were a fan of that would make me question you, and I know it wouldn't happen. I mean, I suppose it could, because the Universe is weird and one has to allow for change, but I'd be more likely to believe the monkeys writing Shakespeare.
carol. wrote: "Ha! Sillykins. There's only one person you could say you were a fan of that would make me question you, and I know it wouldn't happen. I mean, I suppose it could, because the Universe is weird and ..."I am deathly curious to know who that person is. I have my suspicions.... but if it’s who I think it is then no, not possible, ew.
Yeah. I thought I was grown-up and could handle differences of opinion, but the pandemic changed my mind on that one. (view spoiler)
Yeah, there are certain people with whom I have to avoid political talk for the sake of not losing whatever little sanity I may have left. The only way I foresee my opinion of that particular, ahem, person, would change is if I somehow end up on the receiving end of a brain transplant, because everything about him at this point would cause anaphylaxis for me.
Now there's something I could use some immuno-therapy treatment for...
Great review, Carol. I felt similarly. Gaiman gets such raves that I thought this would be more impressive, but I found it jumbled and unclear at times. I hesitate to read anything else by him. "I often enjoy Gaiman's imagery, although occasionally it's self indulgent, seemingly for the sake of being shocking, like the woman that swallows a man through her vagina during sex . . . "
Ugh. I blocked out that part. I almost abandoned the book after reading this. Yes, self-indulgent and not really necessary either.
This was a bit of a miss for me too. I think Most of Gaiman’s stuff has fallen in the middle of the road for me, except for The Graveyard Book and Stardust - both of which are top favorites. I read American Gods ages ago, but I remember being really interested in how it overlapped with Last Call by Tim Powers. I think Last Call did a better job with the old gods living mundane lives theme, and the parallel worlds coexisting idea, and the ghost of the dead wife bit too. But, as with most Tim Powers stories, it’s somewhat baffling until it suddenly makes sense.
"I remember being really interested in how it overlapped with Last Call by Tim Powers." Good point. I read both (gave both 4 star reviews btw) but hadn't thought about the connection
Caroline wrote: "Great review, Carol. "Thank you so much, Caroline! Yes, that v-j scene was quite enough, wasn't it?
Nice review. You make great points. I really enjoyed Shadow which was enough for me to look the other way on problems with the plot and resolution.
