Neil Gaiman |

Title: American Gods
Author: Neil Gaiman
Pages: 656
Publisher: Headline Review
ISBN: 0747263744

After three years in prison, Shadow has done his time. But as the days, then the hours, then the minutes, then the seconds until his release tick away, he can feel a storm building. Two days before he gets out, his wife Laura dies in a mysterious car crash, in apparently adulterous circumstances. Dazed, Shadow travels home, only to encounter the bizarre Mr. Wednesday claiming to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America. Together they embark on a very strange journey across the States, along the way solving the murders which have occurred every winter in one small American town. But they are being pursued by someone with whom Shadow must make his peace… Disturbing, gripping and profoundly strange, Neil Gaiman’s epic new novel sees him on the road to finding the soul of America.

REVIEW

This is my first Gaiman book and I’ll be honest that reading the first few pages of the book was very confusing on my part. I sometimes think that it is this story then realize that it is another thing entirely until further reading the book jogged my senses and made me realize that this book doesn’t only talk about a particular story but a number. It’s really hard to adjust to Gaiman’s writing style but it was worth it.

This book talks about old gods vs new gods, the progressive world that we live in and how we cope and adapt, it talks about heavily in mythology – the fact that Gaiman is such a talented writer made this book awesome. There is a lot to take it since the story goes back and forth from present to past. It was not a quick read on my part. It actually took me days to finish this book but time invested was worth it. I had a lot of AHA moments and after I finished reading the book – I definitely decided that I need to read more of Gaiman’s work. Will not write anything to give the story away, I believe that you have to read the book to really appreciate it and understand peoples opionion of whether liking it or hating it. I agree to most that this book is not for everyone, some may hate it – more may love it but not everyone can enjoy it. My only question is, did I made the right decision to read this book first than his other novels?