r/books discussion

I am not putting dates on this, since I think most of you are just popping in to share thoughts on a past read. Continue!

I think I'm right in saying this is Gaiman's longest book to date (not counting Sandman as it's a different medium)? American Gods was the first of his stuff I read and, having read some of his shorter, earlier works afterwards, I think he may have had a little bit of a struggle to keep it as cohesive as the shorter books, since it was significantly longer than 'Neverwhere' and 'The Graveyard Book'.

I am wondering if anyone has input on something I've been wondering about. What is Shadow's motivation? We know he loves her and wants her alive again, coughing up maggots and all, but that isn't the main idea. His blind following of Wednesday and then his adamant decision to hold his vigil... Why? Why does he do all this? All he says is that he "drank his mead"... Is that really how simple he is?

My real guess would be Wednesday's using some form of magic charm. It sounds like a cop out, but this has been Wednesday's intention for a long time now (view spoiler)[(Just read "Low Key", Shadow's prison buddy's, name out loud to yourself) (hide spoiler)]. More realistically, what else is Shadow gonna do? He doesn't have very much going for him. He's fresh from prison with a dead wife. The outlook on his life is pretty bleak without Wednesday.

Warning: Spoilers below!


I really see what you were saying in the last discussion about readers having trouble connecting with Shadow. I still like parts of him, but he seems to just follow where he is led the entire book (I think until the upcoming pages). He really is quite thick, despite his possible intelligence in some areas. I felt incredibly thick when it was revealed that Wednesday was his father, also. I mean, all the signs pointed towards it! And I didn't see it coming! It explains how Wednesday found him and chose him, anyway.

When Laura talks about how Shadow was never really alive and had no presence, it sort of felt like Gaimon just acknowledging that he had created a boring character. Now he has died and been revived, and that made him truly alive? I don't understand.

Also going back to previous comments about how there aren't many really 'American' gods... It does seem a bit of a misnomer, although a cool name for the book. Few of the gods are originally American, and I don't feel that they have become American, either, since they were brought here to die. And the new gods seem very cliché to me, which colors the entire novel. It's a little... I don't know, simple? Expected?

And I am not done yet, but Laura is now back from the dead, and it had nothing to do with Thunderbirds. And if there was a damn Well of life the entire time, how could no one possibly think to suggest that to Shadow? I mean... It's just right there, the answer to his search.

And is this missing kid thing going to become another plot point, because I feel that it's a little disaggregate at this point.... Short story to novel, indeed.

I think the term 'American Gods' is used to tie in with the America's history of emigration. When the gods settle there, they become
American, just as emigrants and their descendants become American as well.
Of course there are the Native Americans and their gods, but I think Gaiman is trying to convey the 'melting pot' aspect of the country and how welcoming it can be. Once you land there, you are an American.

So, to all those reading it, how is it going so far? How do you like it? Just thought I'd poll the opinions.

I think I might have been the only one actually reading it. My opinion is that it is overrated. I liked it, but judging it on flow and plot progression... It was lacking something. It was quite cliche at points with the technology and media gods, and I felt it meandered at points. Once I get around to rating it, I'll probably give it three stars. Good idea, good writing style... But each of Gaimon's books has lacked something for me.

I agree with Jennifer. I did read American Gods and while I got into it and finish it. I did not get it, not the way books captured me. It was more like assigned reading as opposed to engrossing myself with a book. I am not sure if this was just because it was American Gods, or what.

I read Coraline and enjoyed it much more than American Gods. I also found it much creepier.

I have to agree with Annie (sorry haven't posted in awhile - been ill) I read American G-ds awhile ago and don't even remember half of it, that is what a large impact it made on me! I loved Coraline, Neverwhere was good, loved some of the stories in Smoke and Mirrors and won a signed copy of The Ocean at the End of the Lane which I regret to say I haven't read yet. Annie is right - American G-ds seemed like an assigned book from school. Yuck!

That's so odd, since it is one of his books that gets a ton of buzz. I have been meaning to read Coraline... When I was student teaching, the 8th graders had to choose a book to read and then explain plot, characters, etc. using the different poetic forms we studied, and one of the girls did a great one on Coraline. She loved it, and it made me want to read it too!

I find it ironic that the back of the book says this is a story about the fight for the very soul of America, and agree with that or not, I found that the book lacked a soul. Or at least it lacked that heady draw that other books often have for me. It certainly had a lot going for it yet still was missing something...

Annie, hope you are feeling better!

I read this at least a year ago and don't remember many of the details. It's the only Gaiman i've read. It dragged a little, but was mostly an enjoyable read. Most of the things that stuck were information tidbits about mythology, eg: the day Wednesday is named after the god Odin. I found an interesting site that gives background on most of the characters.

I liked the book because of the whole overarching metaphor about how humans create gods, but I didn't like Shadow's character either, and I remember disliking how he portrayed technology and 'the new gods'. I also agree that Shadow is essentially an empty character, a 'shadow' of a man. I think at the beginning his wife had died, but it didn't seem like a good enough excuse. It was like Shadow was created as the protagonist because he had all the qualities of Gaiman's ideal reader: passive, calm, not asking too many questions.

What did everybody think about the portrayal of technology in the book?

I thought that the old gods were always portrayed as wise and cunning, whereas the new gods were portrayed as vain or foolish or evil, sitting in limo's smoking cigars, sinister giggling .etc. I thought this was strange because I interpret technology ('the new gods') as being pervasive and overwhelmingly distracting, rather than something that is lurking in a dark corner.

While I did find the depictions a bit cliché, I didn't take issue with the vacuous nature of the new gods. The old gods were built around a need, a mythology, and a certain creative force. They had stories and personalities, and they were in and out of the lives of humans. The new gods just exist. They arose based on an obsession with technology, but their worship is empty. There is no creativity, just blind need. The old gods were the soul of a nation and people, the new are just something to mindlessly fill the void.

Like I said, I still think the entire depiction was too cliche... mindless giggling and smacking of foreheads against a wall...