This was my second time through American Gods, I have been wanting to re-read it before watching the Starz adaptation and a friend handed me his book and asked me if I wanted it. I said yes, because that means I did not have to search for my copy of it. I enjoyed the book a lot, and I liked knowing how some story lines ended because it upped the creep factor.
So, because I know that there are people who have not heard of American Gods (no really, I talked to one over the weekend, I was raving about it and he was just super puzzled and wondering what I was talking about), here’s a quick and non-spoilery synopsis. Shadow Moon is given an early release from prison when his wife dies and on his way home, he runs into an old man who is far more than he appears. Shadow quickly gets caught up in the old man’s life, and learns there is far more to the world than meets the eye.
The novel is structured in an episodic manor. Reading, I could definitely tell that this was written early in Gaiman’s novel writing career and close to his comic book period. It felt very much like reading a comic book, which isn’t a bad thing it’s just something I noticed while reading. Of course, I don’t know how influenced that is by the fact that I know Gaiman started his career in comics, but I could see the relation.
I really like the book, it’s extremely readable, and there are parts that are far more horrifying when you know how those situations turn out. However, I can’t quite give it five stars. I’m not quite sure why. However, I do think that it’s one of those books that everyone should at least attempt, even people who aren’t fantasy fans.
American Gods seems to rambling and lacking ever so slightly in plot for me. I would probably give it 3.5 stars while Neverwhere is a 5 star Gaiman book for me. Your review reminds me I should re-read before s2!
That rambling and scarcity of plot is probably what contributed to my feeling like it’s comic-booky. Because I completely agree. I enjoy it more because I think it says a lot about America and who this country is, even if I think that as a Brit, Gaiman misses a lot of the finer nuances (and as a white man misses someother things, for all that he tries).
I read Neverwhere around the same time that I read this one the first time, I think I liked this one better, but it’s been so long. Is this where I confess that Gaiman has never really been a personal favorite author, just someone I acknowledge is a fandom favorite, and thus someone I feel I ought to read? It wasn’t really until I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane that I really and truely loved one of his books.