Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"

Neil Gaiman's American Gods



 To begin, let me start off by saying that this is my first time reading a Neil Gaiman novel. As a fantasy nerd, I knew who Neil Gaiman was, and had encountered his exquisite storytelling when watching "Mirror Mask" and reading a few of the Sandman comics. That being said, I'd never managed to actually pick up one of his novels. I inquired to a few friends what they would recommend and "American Gods" was one of the first and repeated responses, so it seemed I'd be remiss if I didn't take the suggestion.

 Now, in order to satisfy the Neil Gaiman fans that may happen to peruse this humble blog, I did of course enjoy the book. I really believe that it is an important work that will be preserved in the Western Canon. If it doesn't end up being part of the canon in two hundred years forward, then something is woefully wrong with the literary critics of the future. However, I can also understand why one friend of mine commented that the book seemed impenetrable, which I will explain later on in this post.

 For those of you who have not read this book (an error you should immediately correct), I'll attempt to summarize the rather winding plot, without giving a way too much. The novel starts with the main character, Shadow, who is released from jail after a three year sentence only to learn that his wife Laura has been killed in a car accident. As he is flying home, he meets a man by the name of Wednesday who offers him employment. After a few attempts to evade the man, Shadow agrees and finds himself under the employment of the god Odin; through his employment, he becomes involved in a war between the gods and myths of old (Anubis, Thoth, Easter, ect) and the new gods (Media, The Internet, Television). The story also moves between folklore like tales of a succubus like entity (Queen of Sheba) who consumes men with her sexual organs, and a few side stories including a taxi driving djinn and mystically joined African twin slaves. And that is only the tip of the iceberg.

 The story also traces the over all shifts in spirituality in the United States, from the very first worshipers of the land to the current age where people worship electronics and television. In place of temples, laces of power are the various tourists spots scattered about the United States (but not Disney World, as the power there is "twisted" (Gaiman, 119). Beyond that the novel also has highly sexual themes (Such as Wednesday/Odin sleeping with young virgins as a "pick me up"), a copulation scene between Bast and Shadow, and the aforementioned consumption of a man via sexual organs. The novel concentrates on the shifting  beliefs and how they change, fade and what reverberates in our idealogy. One of my favorite quotes from the novel is when Shadow states: "I would rather be a man than a God. We don't need anyone to believe in us. We keep going anyhow. It's what we do" (Gaiman,539). The quote is almost a bit ironic, for reasons I won't reveal (though you can likely read omnipresent Wikipedia to find out).

 As I said before, I found the book a masterful work, but it was not one that I could simply read through. I found myself reading a few chapters, and then needing to pause. I always ended up feeling that the previous sections I had read justified a bit of pondering of what I had just absorbed. There is almost an overwhelming amount of symbolism, allusions and imagery, thus its worth sometimes pausing,visualizing and mulling the meaning of what has conspired in the book. However, Gaiman also has a mastery of dialog, characterization, humor and emotion. I also can understand why in the study guide section provided in the edition I borrowed, Gaiman writes that he found Shadow a frustrating character to write. Shadow is in many ways, just that: a shadow. By Gaiman's own admission, Shadow is not one to share his emotions. He's a unique individual who keeps his thoughts and feelings close to his chest. He's suited for his task and placing in the novel, but he's a man that can be difficult to understand.

 With the combination of deep and intertwined layers of symbolism, imagery and a main character who is in himself complex, I can see why my peer felt the novel was not a "fun" read. "American Gods" gives the reader a great deal to consider and mull, and sometimes can seem inscrutable. I honestly can't do justice to all the of the allusions in this work in one simple blog post, but if I were in college, I would have had an easy twenty page paper to write. I freely admit to having to pick up my Norse mythology book to familiarize myself with some of the Nordic myths to fully comprehend the meaning behind certain actions and signs. I don't feel its necessary to understand the book to do so, but I honestly felt it would be a good idea to read a few quick articles on myths (Greek, Egyptian, American, Christian, ect) while reading this novel in order to get a full feel for the characters and their place in humanities spiritual evolution.

 I would easily recommend this book to anyone looking for a powerful, invoking novel that will give rise to a great deal of consideration of your own beliefs and paradigms of the world. And if your not, well, you should still read it anyways. That is it for now.

 Good reading,

 Wayfarer


 Citations: Gaiman, Neil. American Gods. New York: HaperCollins. 2001. Print