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Loading... Anansi Boysby Neil Gaiman
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. As a spin-off of the highly acclaimed 'American Gods' this book had plenty to live up to. And that has been its downfall. A fun tale that is hampered by the long shadow cast by its predecessor. Fat Charlie is the son of Anansi - the spider god. Anansi is quick witted, well liked by some, hated by the other gods, and a jokester. Fat Charlie is confused and doesn't live up to who he is supposed to be. Upon the death of Anansi, Fat Charlie summons his brother Spider, and finds out who he really is. I have not fully made up my mind if I enjoyed this book or not. It was a quick read, and interesting plot. The mythology part was good. I didn't become invested in the characters and I think that is why I didn't throughly enjoy the book. 3 STARS This novel by Neil Gaiman was so enjoyable that I recommended it to my son. (He thoroughly enjoyed it as well.) Neil Gaiman weaves a totally believable world in which I was smitten by Fat Charlie. Old and unfamiliar gods play an important part in the story and as an arachnophobe I even came to like the spiders (of all sizes). fun and fast 0.049 seconds to build listing
The problem in "Anansi Boys" is the type of fantasy Gaiman has chosen. The tales of Anansi outwitting his foes leave you feeling you've eaten something heavy and sugary. There's an Uncle Remus folksiness to the stories that sends the airy blitheness of the farce plummeting down to earth.
There is also, I regret to say, the warm hand of instruction lying uneasily on this tale. Charlie works through his ineffectualness and his family issues to find happiness, contentment and - ugh - acceptance. It leaves you with the uncomfortable feeling that for Gaiman, farce by itself would simply have been too frivolous, that he feels the need to impart a lesson.
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 006051518X, Hardcover)One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modern age -- complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. Not to mention a lime. Anansi Boys When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed -- before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life. Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun ... just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie. Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Some said he could cheat even Death himself. Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times bestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny -- a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as "a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him." (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:16 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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The first thing that I will say is that I enjoyed reading “Anansi Boys”. It’s got an original central idea – what if the traditional gods were alive today? How would they act? How would they influence the world in which we live? The writing is decent, and I enjoyed the occasional attempt at humour, too – it’s not a comedy by any means, but does raise a smile or two.
My enjoyment of the book expressed, there are more than a few problems with this book, which do spoil my enjoyment greatly. While the first book in the series, “American Gods” utilised a plethora of gods from a variety of mythologies, and looked at the effects they had on society as a whole, this book mainly concentrates on one god, his two sons, and a few individuals whom are acquainted with the god in question. Occasionally, another god might pop up to help progress the story, but there is quite a lack of gods at work. In fact, the story feels somewhat, well, pedestrian. With all of the things that a god might get up to in today’s society, Gaiman has his going on a nightclub crawl, charming women, and doing other similar mundane acts. Surely a god or demi-god would come up with some better ideas, especially a trickster god?
Another problem is that the book is riddled with coincidences, all of which are required to progress the book forward. In particular, the convergence of all of the main characters on a small island through a variety of different reasons needs a great deal more explanation than what was given, and strains credulity, but there are many other coincidences that were introduced. Yes, you could probably resolve one or two coincidences with some hand-waving, saying “Gods are at work, you know, don’t question it at all.” However, the coincidences are never explained, nor examined, not even an attempt to distract the reader with a theological question regarding the coincidences, which would have been somewhat appropriate given the storyline. They just happen, and we are meant to believe this. Or perhaps gloss over it.
“Anansi boys” is an enjoyable book, but it’s a disappointment in quite a few ways, and doesn’t bear a close examination afterwards. It’s an interesting and entertaining idea, certainly, and the writing enjoyable enough, but huge coincidences and a failure to realise the potential of the central concept does detract from the story greatly. (