Book Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (10th Anniversary Edition - Author's Preferred Text)

Neil Gaiman's American Gods (Front Cover Jacket)

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Rear Cover Jacket)

Book Title: American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition (Author's Preferred Text)
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy Novel

Edition: 10th Anniversary Edition
Country Setting: United States of America (U.S.A.)

Language: English
ISBN: 9780062059888
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published Date: 2011
Media Type: Hardcover
First Originally Publish: June 19, 2001

American Gods Plot:

Shadow, the name of the main character of the book is an ex-convict man. After leaving the prison, eager to meet again his wife Laura, he unexpectedly get a sad news that her wife has just died due to car accident after blowjobing his best friend Robbie. He met a bloke named Wednesday. Wednesday offered Shadow a job. Shadow accepted the job and there begins his journey to the country of old and new Gods & Goddesses of America.

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

American Gods Review:

"A storm is coming . . ." - this is American Gods' word of suspense. I'm anticipating that "storm" in the book and as I expected, It is on the end part of the story. I started reading Neil Gaimans after reading his Sandman graphic novel which I loved. But the time I try out his American Gods, I am just plainly satisfied.  I'm expecting something from the story after reading the first, second, third, fourth, fifth chapter and continually anticipating the next chapter but it is not the type of magical story that I'm expecting and I find it new, It's unpredictable. Maybe i am fed up with characters with a lot of show-off super power abilities in a story but American Gods is not that kind of thrill.

The book has a variety of mythical elements. It does not stick with one mythology, it contains a worldwide of myths migrated to America.

The places mentioned in the book is something I can't relate into. It made me Google some of the places so I can understand and picture out what does the place really looks like.

This book is for mature readers as there are sexual acts in the story (not really explicit).


Every chapter of this book is very long (about 20 - 30 pages) and if you're used to read chapters of 10 pages and continue-it-later then you might be tire off reading with this one. It is a no page-turner.


I don't feel I'm going to anticipate reading the sequel to this book which is Anansi Boys. Since I just started to be a Neil Gaiman fan, maybe I'll buy the next book it in the future.

American Gods Novel by Neil Gaiman (Spine)

American Gods (Spine w/o Jacket Cover)

Reference:

• Gods & Goddesses mentioned in the book (see link here from Frowl,org). - For me, I suggest you read the gods and goddesses that will be mentioned in the book if you haven't started it yet, this reference is for your easy understanding of who's and what.
• House on the Rock (see link of their official site here and their blog here). - Also, I suggest you take a read of what "House on the Rock" place is. Again, this reference is for your easy understanding of where and what the place is.

Reading Group Discussion Questions from American Gods 10th Anniversary Edition:

1. American Gods is an epic novel dealing with many big themes, including sacrifice, loyalty, betrayal, love, and faith. Which theme affected you the most strongly, and why?
2. Shadow begins the novel as a convict, and ends it a different man. How does the novel exploit the idea of America as a place where immigrants and exiles, both physical and emotional, can reinvent themselves? What makes Shadow himself so compelling and complex?
3. American Gods is partly a road trip through a small-town America, where Shadow can see the darker side of life that other people ignore. What does the novel say about what people will accept in order to maintain a sense of normality?
4. The old gods expect sacrifice, violence, and worship. How have they adapted to the modern world? What does this say about the nature of divinity? How and why have Americans transferred their devotion to the new technological and material gods from the old spiritual gods? What comment is being made about the modern cultural values?
5. What is the significance of the illusion, cons, and magic tricks that occur throughout the novel? American Gods is a novel in which magic, myth, and the divine coexist with the normal, mundane, and human in a way that is utterly believable. How is this illusion maintained?
6. How does the rich background description increase the power of the narrative? What do the secondary characters, particularly the gods whose lives and deaths we are given a brief insight into, add to the novel?

If you have read the book, let's form a discussions, please answer through commenting. Thanks!

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