American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Book: American Gods

Author: Neil Gaiman

Rating: 3 out of 5 sacrifices

First Paragraph: Shadow had done three years in prison. He was big enough and looked don't-fuck-with me enough that his biggest problem was killing time. So he kept himself in shape, and taught himself coin tricks, and thought a lot about how much he loved his wife.

Review: There were too many gods. Too much of them whining about how they weren't worshipped any more. Yes, we get it. You're proud and want to live like any good god should. And they envied men. You would think that their eventual death would make them happier.... I liked some of the new American Gods that he made, but I wanted to see others or understand what 'abstract' god they were.

I enjoyed reading about the 'temples' built across America in the form of roadside attractions. Makes me wonder about the largest ball of tinfoil. Did Gaiman write the nature of the gods well? Yes, but you might want to read up on all of your mythologies first. Preferably Norse and Eastern European if you want to have a better understanding of the major gods described in the book.

Then there is the whole question as to whether or not the main character is Jesus. The entire book he was just waiting to die, and his happiest moments were when he lived in a funeral parlor with the Egyptian gods of death, and when he eventually died. At the end of the book, he left America. Was it to get away from the dying gods or to keep himself from becoming one?

By the end of the story, I was almost wondering if all of the characters in the book weren't gods of some sort. One didn't seem like a god, but rather like an urban legend come true. The repeated theme of America not being a good land for gods kind of made me wonder whether or not this was a good book about gods. I loved the topic but thought that it could have dug a little deeper somehow. Delve more into the makings of the gods instead of just fleeting glances at them in their twilight.