Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

By -


American Gods is an award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman. Although it was released in 2001, it is new to me. Back then, I was firmly entrenched in reading Harry Potter and Narnia to my kids. I didn't spend a whole lot of time discovering new (to me) authors, instead whenever I had time to devote to myself I would pick up the latest book by my favorite author of the time. I wasn't actively looking for anything new and different, so I really feel like I missed out here.
Come with me through the jump and I'll tell you why I'm, so glad I finally found this modern classic, and why you should check it out, too!


In American Gods, Mr. Gaiman suggests that gods and mythological creatures exist because people believe in them. Once people forget about them, their power is diminished. Other gods rise up to take their places, which reflect America's obsession with television, celebrity, technology, and the internet. This is a very interesting premise: in today's age, because so much public interest is focused on those things, are they being worshiped?

 The central character is Shadow, a man who is about to be released from prison. He is an intelligent, reserved man whose life falls apart when his wife, Laura, and best friend are killed in a car accident. After receiving the bad news, he is given an early release. His trip home from prison is interrupted by Wednesday, a mysterious stranger. Although he is initially very wary of Wednesday, he eventually agrees to work for him. He discovers Wednesday is, in fact, a version of Odin, the Norse god of knowledge and wisdom. Wednesday is on a mission to enlist the aid of other mythological gods in an upcoming battle for supremacy against the new American gods, lead by Mr. World. Shadow meets many gods and mythological creatures, including a leprechaun named Mad Sweeney. After a barroom brawl, Mad Sweeney gives Shadow a magical gold coin. After Shadow tosses the coin onto his Laura's grave, she is brought back to life as a revenant. Laura watches over Shadow and protects him from danger, using lethal force when necessary.

 Eventually, Shadow is forced into hiding in the idyllic town of Lakeside. Under an assumed name, he finds friendship and acceptance with the townspeople, but gradually suspects something is not quite right with the town. Lakeside is perfect, except for the fact that every year, one child vanishes and is never seen again. When his past is brought to light, his peaceful respite comes to an end.

 A turning point comes when Wednesday is killed by the new gods, and the formerly reluctant gods are finally motivated to war. Shadow gradually comes to realize that Wednesday and Mr. World had been working a two-man con. Furthermore, Mr. World is revealed to be his former cell mate, Low Key Lyesmith, better known as Loki, the Norse god of mischief. Mr. World had ordered the death of Wednesday, which lead to the battle between the old and new gods. The battle served to be a sacrifice to Odin, restoring his power. Loki would then feed off the mischief. Sneaky, huh?

 After the battle, Shadow returns to Lakeside and discovers the secret behind the missing children. One of the townspeople is a kobold, an ancient Germanic household god. He protected and blessed the town, but took one child per year as a sacrifice. With Shadow's help, the kobold is defeated and the town's children are once again safe, although the town's prosperity will, no doubt, be diminished.

 I just have to say, this is one of the most interesting books I've read in quite some time. Mr. Gaiman has done a wonderful job combining mythology from a wide variety of cultures and pitting it against the media and other technological advances.

 In July 2014, Starz announced they were planning to adapt American Gods for a television series. Ironic, isn't it?

 Wench Rating:

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 15, 2014 at 12:22 PM

    Loved your review Donna. This book was one of my favourite reads this year as well.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

You Might Want to Read...

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Scenes That Left us Begging for More

By -
Image
Created by Olga Daniels What better way to prepare for the impending release of the next Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, Lover at Last by J. R. Ward, than to relive some of our favourite scenes in the previous books?! Some of these scenes were selected by multiple Wenches, others are just personal favourites. One is. Clearly. The. Wench. Favourite. It won't be hard to tell which one! After the jump, see which scenes made us ooh, ahh, and pant for more.
Keep reading »

A Tribute to The Fiery Cross

By -
Image
Or How I Learned to Stop, Smell the Pig Shite, and Fall in Love with the Fifth Book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series A young White Sow dreams of all the food she’ll be eating to grow into her role in this book As the wait for the new Outlander book and television series drags on (and oooooonnnnnnnnaaaarrrggghhh), many fans have been rereading the first seven books in the series. Fascinating online discussions abound as to the motivations of the characters, the nuances of meaning within various scenes, and future possibilities and foreshadowing. Amongst enthusiastic effusions about all things even remotely associated with our beloved series, I’ve seen one recurring subject of complaint. People like to pick on The Fiery Cross . “It’s too slow.” “It doesn’t have enough action.” “Where’s the mystery?” So during my recent reread, I set out to take a few notes about memorable moments. But I gave that up early on. There were far too many. Because the book was like a beautifu
Keep reading »

When The Music's Over

By -
Image
A SUPER Spoilery Discussion of Feversong by Karen Marie Moning by: Zee the Terrible and Barbara Bones By Olga. It's now been two weeks since we got our hot little hands on Feversong , the final book in the Mac & Barrons part of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. It's almost all we can talk about in the Saucy Wenches hallways (which is really online, but you get the drift) and we have lots of thoughts and opinions so we aren't putting off our Super Spoilery Recap Extravaganza any longer!  Zee told you about how much she loved it in her Wench review, here , and it will surprise exactly no one that Barb did, too. Loved it to pieces. Thought it was pretty much perfect, exactly the kind of conclusion KMM has been promising us since she gave us Iced , leaving everyone precisely where they need to be. That said, we have lots and lots and LOTS of thoughts. So come with us through the jump where we're dishing all the dirt, in filthy, spoilery detail. We menti
Keep reading »

Dani Mega O'Malley: Superstar

By -
Image
Giddy with anticipation for the release of Karen Marie Moning's Iced , a lot of the Wenches have been thinking about Dani "Mega" O'Malley, the young sidhe -seer we first met in Bloodfever , who is poised to step out of the shadows behind Mac and Rowena and take center stage. Though Moning has recently said the three books she is writing for Dani will continue the story we've been following in the Fever books, the POV will shift to reveal the next chapters through Dani's eyes. With our heads firmly buried in Shadowfever in a frenzied effort to finish our rereads before the new release, we Wenches have been wondering what's in store for Dani. But no one has wanted to stop reading long enough to write a proper tribute to our young heroine as she prepares to take the leap to leading lady. Though we all think she's pretty awesome and deserves a big ticker-tape parade to show our support. So a sneaky Wench tried the stealth approach and asked us
Keep reading »

Review: Annihilation (Book and Movie)

By -
Image
When I read Annihilation last fall, I was intrigued, repulsed, mystified, enchanted, horrified, compelled, absorbed, and ultimately so unable to articulate what had happened that I didn’t attempt a review. But it has never stopped growing on me, new insights twining around in my brain. It’s insidious. Then the movie happened. I. Had. To. Go. I didn’t think anyone could film the book, and I was on Cloud 9 when I saw the abundance of rave critical reviews. It got compared to Apocalypse Now and 2001: A Space Odyssey ! It got called “stunning” and the “Best Sci-Fi Film in Years” that “ranks among great philosophical sci-fi”! And though there were many differences from the book, it sounded almost as batshitcrazybrilliant as the book!! Which means there are now two equally haunting versions of this story for me to wonder WTF happened. I might not have all the answers, but I’ve certainly enjoyed replaying scenes in my mind and pondering the possibilities. And I suspect that’s
Keep reading »