Mortification Scale: 1 Tomato Face
- 1 TF for the fantasy novel
- Winner of the 2002 Hugo, Nebula & Bram Stoker awards
- Excellent insider's experience for anyone interested in world religions/mythology
- Really really good story
- Has some major ick factor
Shadow has had a bad run of luck. First, his partners in a bank robbery (he was the getaway driver) decided to cut him out of his share. Then, when he tracked them down and beat the hell out of them, they prosecuted him for assault. After serving 3 years of his 6 year sentence, Shadow is due to be released on parole when his wife, Laura, and his best friend, Robbie, die in a car crash caused by Laura distracting Robbie with a blow job. Ouch. So, Shadow is released a couple of days early so that he can get to his wife's funeral. On the way there, he runs into an annoying old man who wants to hire him for a job. That old man is Odin, the All-Father from Norse mythology. He also happens to be Shadow's actual father, though that isn't revealed until closer to the end of the book.
Shadow ends up traveling all around America meeting gods from the Egyptian, Slavic, Anglo-Saxon, Hindu, and many other pantheons. The book is a combination of Americana and intro to mythology. All the while, Shadow is occasionally met by his dead wife, Laura, who he accidentally raised from the dead with a gold coin he won from a leprechaun. She's still dead, and rotting, but is ambulatory and still his wife. Shadow has many experiences and runs across some genuine mysteries, all culminating in his being tied to the world tree for nine days, dying and being resurrected (alive) by the goddess Eoster. After that, Shadow has the wisdom to stop the war between the old gods and the new gods (media, internet, etc.) that was started as an elaborate grift by Odin and Loki in order to strengthen themselves on the death of gods.
This is an elaborate book that never seems urgent, yet is rarely boring. I like that there is a theme of mystery (as in mystery novel -crime solving) along with the greater theme of the Mysteries (religious terminology). Cute. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about religion or about the United States as well as anyone just looking for a good book to spend a few hours in. Make sure to read Anansi Boys after you finish American Gods. It's not really a sequel, but is set in the same world with one of the same characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment