American Gods
(2001) by Neil Gaiman
Honestly, I've never read anything like this before.
American
Gods
is sweeping, complex, and fast-paced, with side-stories and
back-stories sprouting from every chapter, as if wishing to become
novels in their own right. I can see why this book won twenty
thousand awards and why everyone has recommended it.
In
a sense, Gaiman here does for America in fiction what Antonín
Dvořák did for it in music at the end of the 19th century:
highlight and artistically adapt the country's cultural artifacts,
which were in plain sight all along. Gaiman imagines the dislocation
that comes from immigrants abandoning their beliefs in order to
assimilate, and what happens to those "gods" when they are
left behind. It's the idea that nothing, not even intangible beliefs
or ideas, ever really vanishes.
Set
against this grand backdrop of gods and battles for American hearts
and minds is the story of one man who must navigate both the tangible
and intangible worlds as he tries to understand what exactly the gods
want with him.
Oh, and his dead wife kind
of
comes back to life (but she's still dead) and he keeps having these
extremely bizarre vision-dreams...
Gaiman
invites us to broaden our understanding of history and accept that
America might have been visited by various peoples far earlier than
previously thought. In my opinion it is this, plus Gaiman's ability
to bring this shadow-world to life, that makes American
Gods
so successful.
"In a sense, Gaiman here does for America in fiction what Antonín Dvořák did for it in music at the end of the 19th century: highlight and artistically adapt the country's cultural artifacts, which were in plain sight all along"
ReplyDeletewhat a perfect way of putting it!
I'm so happy you liked this one! American Gods is my favorite Neil Gaiman, it's one of those books that I go back to again and again, even though after three or four readings the ending isn't a surprise anymore.