My first book for the challenge is American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I chose this book as I had read it before and enjoyed it, which, for me, was the whole point of participating in this challenge - to do some self-care reading, reading for fun. I also chose this book because it came up in conversation about the same time as this challenge was introduced to me. Someone I know kept using the term low-key in a discussion and the more he said it the more I thought of Low Key Lyesmith, one of our tale's catalysts.
The more I thought about Low Key, the funnier the discussion got for me until I had to giggle and then explain why what my friend was saying was so funny. No one else had read American Gods so that lead to me telling them why the book was so awesome and recommending it. I don't know about you, reader, but when I am reminded of really good books in this way, I grow nostalgic for them - like remembering a place you used to live or a friend you used to talk to. You long to go back and visit them and that is just what I did.
The more I thought about Low Key, the funnier the discussion got for me until I had to giggle and then explain why what my friend was saying was so funny. No one else had read American Gods so that lead to me telling them why the book was so awesome and recommending it. I don't know about you, reader, but when I am reminded of really good books in this way, I grow nostalgic for them - like remembering a place you used to live or a friend you used to talk to. You long to go back and visit them and that is just what I did.
Book Summary
In American Gods, Neil Gaiman answers the question - what happens to the old gods when their people evolve, migrate, and move on?
The story follows Shadow, an ex-con who has just been released from prison and finds himself without a job or a home or a woman to return to. He is pulled into the world of modernized gods and myth by Mr. Wednesday who hires Shadow to be a sort of body guard, assistant, transporter, etc (anyone watch mob movies? Who is the guy that does everything but has no authority?). During the course of this job, Shadow meets leprechauns bigger than life, funeral directors who are more than what they seem, people who ought to remain dead, and horrific sacrifices.
War is coming among the gods. The gamble is crooked, the game is rigged, the stakes are high...but its the only game in town.
The story follows Shadow, an ex-con who has just been released from prison and finds himself without a job or a home or a woman to return to. He is pulled into the world of modernized gods and myth by Mr. Wednesday who hires Shadow to be a sort of body guard, assistant, transporter, etc (anyone watch mob movies? Who is the guy that does everything but has no authority?). During the course of this job, Shadow meets leprechauns bigger than life, funeral directors who are more than what they seem, people who ought to remain dead, and horrific sacrifices.
War is coming among the gods. The gamble is crooked, the game is rigged, the stakes are high...but its the only game in town.
Favorites
I love that the main character isn't the usual, likable hero. Shadow is a guy who epitomizes the strong, silent type and he starts out in the story in prison. I have to admit, when I first began reading this book, I was apprehensive as to whether or not I was going to be able to relate enough to the protagonist to really get into the story. Gaiman doesn't let me down. Shadow isn't just some brute, he is "Everyman" who deals with real world problems as well as surreal, fantastical conflict. I grew to love him.
One of my favorite things about American Gods, and Neil Gaiman's writing in general, is the way that characters that many of us know from mythology, legend, and history are twisted into a modern world view. As someone who practices a sort of modernized form of witchery and embraces current witchy archetypes, it is always refreshing to see how others view the world around them and how the gods and spirits will evolve with the times. I do this myself at times, wondering how forest fairies might have transformed to accommodate cities and parks or how gods might embrace the current age like Anubis and Bilquis (see: Mercury - God of Commerce and Tarot).
There are many themes in the book - it would take a thesis to discuss them all I think. One of my favorite themes is the two ways America is seen in the book. America is a character by itself in Gaiman's writing. We see America in Shadow's travels to diners, grubby apartments, woods, highways, and roadside attractions. We visit America through the eyes and ideas of not only a citizen (Shadow) but also through immigrants.
Wednesday describes America through the Statue of Liberty - saying she is a whore with cold jizm running down her leg. This idea of America being harsh and filthy is reiterated with chapter segments of prostitution and hardship of the working class. However, when Shadow dreams, it is usually of a buffalo god and the ancient gods of the Americas including the energy of fire under the earth and these gods describe America briefly as being a land of fire and dreams and no place for gods because of that. We see these dreams and the fire within in our Everyman, Shadow - in how he was able to get out of jail through good behavior, in his love for his wife, and in his desire to learn what this world is all about. We also in side characters like Sam who is going to school and finding love, in Salim who finds freedom through the tricks of an ifrit.
I think its beautiful how Gaiman describes America in both of these ways because I think we as Americans embody both of these concepts - the dirty and the dream, the fire and filth. We have riots in the streets but we also have people doing amazing things every day and are capable of that because of where we live...but I digress.
Wednesday describes America through the Statue of Liberty - saying she is a whore with cold jizm running down her leg. This idea of America being harsh and filthy is reiterated with chapter segments of prostitution and hardship of the working class. However, when Shadow dreams, it is usually of a buffalo god and the ancient gods of the Americas including the energy of fire under the earth and these gods describe America briefly as being a land of fire and dreams and no place for gods because of that. We see these dreams and the fire within in our Everyman, Shadow - in how he was able to get out of jail through good behavior, in his love for his wife, and in his desire to learn what this world is all about. We also in side characters like Sam who is going to school and finding love, in Salim who finds freedom through the tricks of an ifrit.
I think its beautiful how Gaiman describes America in both of these ways because I think we as Americans embody both of these concepts - the dirty and the dream, the fire and filth. We have riots in the streets but we also have people doing amazing things every day and are capable of that because of where we live...but I digress.
Paganism and American Gods
One of the biggest things that I am always effected by when reading American Gods is the part where Wednesday and Shadow meet with Easter. Here is a goddess who's feast day is celebrated everywhere and by more and more people every year - and yet she is still starving from lack of acknowledgement and worship. To prove this, Wednesday asks a waitress, who claims to be a pagan, what the word Easter means and where it comes from. In the book, the pagan believes Easter to be purely Christian and says she worships the nameless, divine feminine within. She doesn't understand when Wednesday asks about sacrifices, bacchanals, etc and is offended. This is something that I think any pagan reading American Gods should consider...
Rating
5 stars. Probably my favorite book by Gaiman.
If you like American Gods, you might like:
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