There is a question that Neil Gaiman himself asks in both
the introduction and the afterward of the tenth-anniversary
edition of AMERICAN GODS. To paraphrase, he ruminates on
the inadvisability of an Englishman writing down a tribute
to America (namely, "how dare you?") and, conversely, the
amount of praise and approval that his work has garnered
from the American people. As a self-considered connoisseur
of all that is middle American, I considered his nationality
in my reading but ultimately felt the materialization of a
sort of respectful love for the country between the pages of
the novel. Not the love of a patriot per se, but that of a
"stranger in a strange land," where the sheer size and
diversity of the country inspires both awe and ennui in a
traveler.
AMERICAN GODS rifles through the American atlas,
stopping off in small Wisconsin towns, in Chicago, Indiana,
Kansas, Vegas, and others. It tumbles down roads that have
no signs and roads that have far too many signs for
attractions like "Rock City" and the "House on the Rock".
It's a peculiar sort of fantasy novel, one that is often
more "fantastic" than "fantasy." In a way, it's a small
town story or perhaps many small town stories that have been
shackled to something much bigger and greater, a something
that seems as if it has been around, in those same small
towns, since the very beginning. Too vague? It's a
difficult book to describe, one of those rare books whose
mood has more effect on the reader's consciousness than the
actual plot.
Gaiman states in his introduction that people tend to either
love AMERICAN GODS with great extravagance or virulently
hate it with a frequently-voiced passion. It's a strange
sort of book- one that reads almost as a metaphor that never
quite fully materializes. It is not a book for sunny days
(much like Gaiman's other works in that respect) but one
whose reading feels almost like grief or emptiness for the
bulk of the pages. There is a peace and a splendor to some
chapters and an empty sort of anger in the reading of
others. It seems virtually impossible to predict whether a
given reader will love or hate the work- I can only say with
certainty that it continues to capture the imagination long
after the final page.
First published in 2001, American Gods became an instant
classic—an intellectual and artistic benchmark from the
multiple-award-winning master of innovative fiction, Neil
Gaiman. Now discover the mystery and magic of American Gods
in this tenth anniversary edition. Newly updated and
expanded with the author’s preferred text, this
commemorative volume is a true celebration of a modern
masterpiece by the one, the only, Neil Gaiman.
A storm is coming . . .
Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time,
quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to
Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what
tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura,
the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.
But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best
friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces
and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from
a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic
man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue,
Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does
himself.
Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is
far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever
imagined—it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange
road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric
characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with
his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past
never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura,
harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and
myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will
discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a
storm is brewing—an epic war for the very soul of America—
and that he is standing squarely in its path.
Relevant and prescient, American Gods has been lauded for
its brilliant synthesis of “mystery, satire, sex, horror,
and poetic prose” (Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book
World) and as a modern phantasmagoria that “distills the
essence of America” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). It is,
quite simply, an outstanding work of literary imagination
that will endure for generations.
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