Yog
07-01-2009, 08:15 AM
"American Gods" is a fiction novel by Neil Gaiman—an English author. He had a few worthwhile notations on his resume including being the author of "Stardust" and the excellent comic series "Sandman." I think it was his work with "Sandman" that intrigued me most concerning this title as it contained quite a few mythological elements and references.
"American Gods" could be said to be about many things: a mythology for America, a new mythology for America, a partial explanation for why America is the way it is, an outsiders view of America. Certainly many of these ideas and themes are found flowing in the undercurrent of the novel. What happens when a civilization that lacks a coherent identity finds a place of mystery? What is the American Stonehenge? What is the American version of Ragnarok? What are the Gods of America? Interspersed with the ideology is one main story and many other short stories. It is an interesting literary composition to say the least.
I think the most fun I had while reading it was trying to figure out which characters from ancient mythology were represented in the story. If you are familiar with Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Native American, Tribal African, or Russian mythologies then will see all these elements in the story. I won't give much of anything away by saying that much of the central plot is Norse in origin. The only mythology I found conspicuous in its abscence was Greek. Perhaps Neil became burned out on Greek while writing "Sandman." Perhaps he never really liked it. Perhaps he just didn't see a place for it in this story. At any rate, if you enjoy mythology, good fiction, and thought provoking writing then you can't go wrong with this novel.
Two troll thumbs up.
If anyone else has read it, knows a friend who has, or just wants to jump in with a comment feel free.
"American Gods" could be said to be about many things: a mythology for America, a new mythology for America, a partial explanation for why America is the way it is, an outsiders view of America. Certainly many of these ideas and themes are found flowing in the undercurrent of the novel. What happens when a civilization that lacks a coherent identity finds a place of mystery? What is the American Stonehenge? What is the American version of Ragnarok? What are the Gods of America? Interspersed with the ideology is one main story and many other short stories. It is an interesting literary composition to say the least.
I think the most fun I had while reading it was trying to figure out which characters from ancient mythology were represented in the story. If you are familiar with Norse, Celtic, Egyptian, Native American, Tribal African, or Russian mythologies then will see all these elements in the story. I won't give much of anything away by saying that much of the central plot is Norse in origin. The only mythology I found conspicuous in its abscence was Greek. Perhaps Neil became burned out on Greek while writing "Sandman." Perhaps he never really liked it. Perhaps he just didn't see a place for it in this story. At any rate, if you enjoy mythology, good fiction, and thought provoking writing then you can't go wrong with this novel.
Two troll thumbs up.
If anyone else has read it, knows a friend who has, or just wants to jump in with a comment feel free.