American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition (A Full Cast Production)

I have never been a fan of the Terry Pratchett-style, quirky fantasy, so reading anything by Neil Gaiman was never on my to-do list. However, I watched the first season of the American Gods TV show and was impressed, so I decided to read the book.I was pleasantly surprisedAmerican Gods is written well, and by that I mean it was easy to read. The storytelling was natural, and I burned through this book faster than I do with most, even with so many pages!Shadow isn’t a fascinating characterHe never seems to want anything, and that’s frustrating. I know American Gods isn’t really about him (the story is, but the book isn’t) but readers need the protagonist to have some sort of desires to move the story forwards which will keep us invested. I wasn’t.I loved the reimagining of the Gods, Goddesses, and heroic figuresThis was my favourite part of the book. I can tell that Neil Gaiman has a love of old mythology, especially Norse, so I clung to that when reading American Gods to keep be interested; it worked.The ending is relatively goodIt was a little surprising but I think we could see something like that coming up. The beginning is great, though, so I can see many readers being enticed by the first few chapters and then glued to the page by Neil Gaiman’s natural writing style.The middle section (a very large section) is dull, but not pointless – the writing style is what kept me reading there.Overall, it’s a good book, but not brilliant.

It really is all smoke and mirrors isn't it - what you see may not be real, what you see may be realer than you could ever imagine. The stoner kid who never seems to change who is always on the same spot in the park - is he really a stoner kid or an abandoned God, clinging on as best he can? That sweet little old lady in the local library that smells vaguely of cat is she just an old lady or something rather more dangerous? This seems to be the premise that Neil Gaiman has taken and run with in his, rather unique, style.I haven't watched the TV series of the book but a co-worker has and recommended it to me as being incredibly strange (I like strange). Me, being me, would rather have the book so I decided to take the plunge. Unfortunately, all the way through I kept seeing Ian McShane's face as Mr Wednesday - but I can understand why they cast him as he does irascibly dodgy so well. That aside, it took me a disappointingly long time to twig who Mr Wednesday really is - I know, I know shameful (especially knowing the author's love of Norse Mythology, in fact ALL mythology going off this book). I was also in the dark, along with Shadow, as to who his cell mate really was and it was all there in the open, we were just too blind to see it.What I did find interesting was how much crossover various Religions have (I can waffle for DAYS about the links between Ancient Egyptian belief and the Old Testament/Torah) but had never really considered Norse tradition, Slavic tradition - even Hinduism and Sikhism have crossovers. It's almost as though "names have been changed" in some cosmic documentary series. It even made me look further in to traditions and religions I had never given much temporal time to (Eastern European belief systems in particular) so probably took me longer to read because of this popping off to research the Zorya, etc..I found the book to be completely immersive - so much so I spent an entire day off work curled up on the couch in my pjs just reading, been a LONG time since my entire day has been about a book. The warp and weft of the story just captivated me and sucked me right in. I never really felt emotion for the characters though, which is decidedly odd for me; usually if I love a book it is due to character but this one was all about the plot for me. Although, if Shadow was anyone other than himself it just wouldn't have worked - contradictory I know.I'm not even really sure how to describe the plot - it just IS. There is also that little niggle in the back of your mind (the same one that The Stand gave me) that this could be real. When we create a belief system what happens when it's last adherent passes? Are we keeping the truly Ancient Religions alive by studying the cuneiform writings or the Hieroglyphics? By uttering Odin's name, or Freya's on a weekly basis are we keeping the God alive? By watching MCU movies are Loki and Thor being worshipped once more? Do Marillion have the power to resurrect Grendel? I think I am overthinking a fantasy novel rather too much - but I LIKE that it made me think, that it has entertained me mightily but also that it has given me something new to ponder on when I am cannot sleep.This is a strange book, this is true. This is a very charming book as well, it's charm coming from the normalcy of every peculiar encounter, dream and circumstance. Shadow just accepts what is happening around and to him with a peculiar equanimity that speaks more of personal serenity than gullibility. This is not a book for public reading though, you need to get comfortable and realise that hours will pass whilst you are under it's spell - not so good for a lunch break or commute.

After  Good Omens  and  Anansi Boys  this is my third excursion with Neil Gaiman and unlike with the first two, which I enjoyed a great deal, this one was a bit of a mixed bag for me.The book is based on a fabulous premise - namely of people bringing gods they worship / associated ideas into the new land they move to - in this case America. That these then need to arrange themselves there, in competition with many other views and in a land, which according to the author is not 'very suitable' for gods is in essence what the book is about. This story then unfolds in the book through the experiences of Shadow - the ex-con protagonist - who gets throuwn into this aspect of life after leaving prison. As such, the basic idea, the cultural commentary and the overall plan being set are great, with execution leaving, on occassion, a bit to be desired.First of all, the length. While I almost always have a preference for a book longer rather than shorter, I did on several occassions (especially towards the middle) get the impression that this one started to drag a bit. This is the author's prefered version of the text - meaning that ca. 12.000 words that have been parsed from the first edition by the editor got reinstated in some shape or form. Not having read the earlier version, I cannot say for sure but my impression is certainly that the book could easily skip that amount and gain, rather than lose somethingn (just like it is interesting for fans to see  Apocalypse Now Redux [DVD] [1979 ] to fill in some details in spite of the plain vanilla  Apocalypse Now [1979] [DVD ] probably being much better rounded as a movie).On top of that, one gets the impression that the author often chose to forego focus to benefit inclusion - i.e. a lot of the vignettes included read more as testaments of research done, rather than a part of the story (granted, this may well be seen as a feature by some and certain ones of the vignettes present some of the best writing in the book).Shadow, as a character, is perhaps not particularly memorable or someone you would naturally identify with, an aspect that may also turn some of the readers off. Whether he is believable is hard to say - people handle extreme situations in mysterious ways and one can certainly believe that his is a possibility.In spite of these criticisms, I still find the book worth reading and apart from some 40 or so pages in the middle, I did not find it difficult to do so - conversely, at no point was it a page turner for me, either. If you can forgive the author his enthusiasm getting the better of him (and thereby bypassing some of the regular editing process) and are willing to follow the idea, and if the size does not deter you, I find the book to certainly provide adequate food for thought and enjoyment, even if it is not the author's best in my opinion.