American Gods by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I wasn’t that carried away by this book while at the same time it was pretty good. I think it’s just I found the ending(s) a bit underwhelming while the author’s mythology works beautifully. And, in the end, who doesn’t want to read of Odin’s adventures?
The weirdness of what was going on did not freak me as much as some of the seemingly unnecessary complexity. And, it does not do to chide gods on topics such as religion or followers, but I don’t find it that unbelievable that the character of the land to which they were brought works against them. Yet, the land itself is no longer worshipped either…
The premise of the newer gods was more interesting and yet I did not find them as well construed as I would have hoped. The endless cliches–which though purposeful were still dreadful–as well as their petty feuding did make me think of children not yet come into their power or wisdom, but they lacked the cultural significance that the old ones possess by default.
I would like to comment on Shadow as well but I am not quite certain what to say except that I found his character very straightforward and likeable. Possibly, this also means that he was nothing like the typical American stereotypes. I am not sure if this was intentional. The mentioning of `Histories’ however definitely was, and what a book that is! Almost makes me want to rate this novel higher for referring to such a well-honed title.
