American Gods by
Neil Gaiman
This review is also found on Goodreads! :)
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Actual Rating: 4.8 stars
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It's difficult to put into words what exactly I loved about American Gods. It was a myriad of eccentricities; this is the weirdest book I have read. The book is a plenitude of riddles. There were things I wish I understood immediately, or had connected immediately to what I've previously read. But due to my on-and-off reading (it took me a month (!!!) to finish this book), some details have already gotten lost among the trivial everyday things on my mind. I only really fully understood what was happening towards the end when the twist was revealed. I'm still reeling from all that had happened--I don't think I've fully grasped and related Shadow's dreams with the resolution. On a different note, it makes me want to go on a road-trip across America to visit all the places Shadow visited.
Despite getting lost along the way, however, I never remembered a time when I didn't have fun reading it. American Gods held me fascinated and intrigued. It got me attached to characters (more importantly to quiet Shadow and resilient Laura). It educated me (a bit) about the different gods of different myths and folklore, which I am otherwise previously unfamiliar with. Although you wouldn't be a subject matter expert immediately after reading this, this served as an introduction to African folklore, German folklore, Egyptian myths, and Algonquian folklore. The blend of culture and tradition made this book so exhilarating to read.
I especially loved the Coming to America short stories (?) by Mr. Ibis. I would have loved to read more of it. I wish Gaiman would write an anthology using Mr. Ibis' voice to regale us with the gods' manifestation in America, and read about the (mis)adventures of the people who brought them here.
Gaiman has always been one of my favorite authors. His works are always so compelling, and his writing mesmerizing. American Gods is no exception. The way he weaves his tale is ingenious. His prose is always lyrical no matter how simple the words he used. Each voice he took with each point-of-view is sharp and distinct.
I think I would still enjoy this book even after re-reading it numerous times. It's one of those books that naturally amass its own cult following. It's just so...profound, and has a lot of layers waiting to be discovered at every re-read you do.
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Disclaimer: Excerpts below are from the book. Copyright © 2011 by Neil Gaiman:
Information and knowledge: these are currencies that have never gone out of style.
You know why dead people only go out at night? Because it's easier to pass for real, in the dark.
Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. And then in the tale we stop before we die, or we die vicariously and unharmed, and in the world beyond the tale we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives.
A life, which is, like any other, unlike any other.
Religions are places to stand and look and act, vantage points from which to view the world.
I think I would rather be a man than a god. We don't need anyone to believe in us. We just keep going anyhow. It's what we do.
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