I bought American Gods (Neil Gaiman) at least three years ago, and since then it has traveled with me to half the places on earth I’ve gone. Those who know me know that I am one of those people who always carry a laptop, a notebook and a book, and then never have time to work, write or read.
American Gods, it must be said, is a 600-page monster of a book (although my version includes a novella at the end, so we could say that the main novel occupies only about 500). And it weighs a lot. And it takes up a lot of suitcase space. And yet it has always been in my suitcase or my backpack.
What can I say? I am an optimist.
I bought the book when I found it in the Glasgow airport shop (or maybe it was at Waterstones? It’s been so long since I don’t even remember anymore). I had seen two or three episodes of the TV series (which you can also watch on Amazon Prime). And although it was a bit macabre, the premise was so interesting that I couldn’t stay without knowing what was going on. But of course, I’m also one of those people who prefer to read the book first. And here we are, three years later, and I can finally finish watching the series.
I’m also going to tell you one thing: I bought the novel in English. That is said early but takes much longer to read. Even if you are a C2 level certified speaker and have lived in the country for several years…
What is American Gods about?
Shadow Moon is a good man who literally has two days left in jail when he learns that his wife Laura has died. Due to such circumstances, they allow him to leave prison early. On the plane back home, Shadow meets Wednesday, a strange man with a glass eye who hires him as a chauffeur and errand boy. And Shadow, who has nothing better to do because he has just been released from prison to become a widower, accepts.
It doesn’t take long for Shadow to discover that Wednesday is actually Odin, the god of the ancient Vikings who arrived in America centuries ago and has never left. Wednesday is recruiting the ancient gods who live in America (Thoth, Chernobog, Easter, Anansi…) to fight against the new gods of the Internet, TV, cars, electricity, who are destroying them.
And for some reason, Odin needs Shadow’s help to do this.
How Gods Are Created
American Gods (Neil Gaiman) isn’t just the story of how Shadow and Wednesday recruiting the ancient gods for one last battle against technological progress. It is also the history of the civilizations that populated the New World before the Spaniards planted their flag there in the fifteenth century, and of those that came after.
Neil Gaiman, in a vivid exercise of imagination, takes us through the nooks and crannies of the untold story of a brutal America where time passes faster and beliefs do not remain. Between chapters we learn about the lives of the slaves torn from their native Africa to work on the lands of the new masters; those of Europeans condemned to emigrate to the other side of the ocean; those of the primitive peoples who crossed the ice for the first time until they reached an unknown continent. People who carried their beliefs with them―beliefs that may not have completely disappeared.
Neil Gaiman’s gods have settled. They wear jeans and drink martinis. Some have forgotten their ancient form. But they KNOW. They know a lot of things. And you, as a reader, will be left wanting to know more about them.
And you’ll also be left wanting more gods of the contemporary world, gods you may recognize better but barely scratch the surface of (of course, Shadow doesn’t deal with them as much as with the gods of the Old World). You may find them abhorrent. And they may also make you reflect on our society. A society that we think more profane than it may really be.
I recommend American Gods (Neil Gaiman) if…
If you’re someone passionate about mythology who enjoys AHA-THIS-GUY-I-KNOW moments. American Gods is an authentic display of mythology knowledge. I found it incredibly enjoyable.
You will also like it if you are a reader with a lot patience. Someone who, although easily distracted, will not give up on the a book until it’s finished. You may need to take breaks between chapters, but thanks to intermediate chapters in which the main story is interrupted to tell the arrival in America of different peoples and divinities that doesn’t need to be a problem. I found this book really interesting from a structural point of view.
And if it doesn’t bother you that there are unresolved stories and things that are left in the air so that you decide to believe what you want about it. Although since I haven’t read the final novella, maybe you’ll be able to find the answers there. Who knows?
Finally, if you like apotheotic endings, this is your book.
Have you read American Gods by Neil Gaiman or watched the show by Amazon Prime? What did you think of it? I’d love to know your opinion!
Much love,
Sof
PS: this blog post was originally written in 2020.