HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Loading...

Anansi Boys (original 2005; edition 2005)

by Neil Gaiman

Series: American Gods (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
20,075462222 (3.94)1 / 423
Fiction. HTML:

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, 20 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. Because 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. And all of a sudden, things start getting very interesting for Fat Charlie. Exciting, scary, and deeply funny, Anansi Boys is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth, a wild adventure, as Neil Gaiman shows us where gods come from, and how to survive your family.

.… (more)
Member:dhirst
Title:Anansi Boys
Authors:Neil Gaiman
Info:Review (2005), Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2005)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

» See also 423 mentions

English (446)  Spanish (5)  German (3)  French (1)  Italian (1)  Finnish (1)  Dutch (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  All languages (459)
Showing 1-5 of 446 (next | show all)
This has been around the house for years, I just picked it up and started reading a couple of days ago-- now finished. I really liked it-- the slow realization of what happened in their youth, the growth of both, the just desserts for their oppressors. ( )
  ehousewright | Jan 29, 2024 |
Most enjoyable continuation of the "American Gods" premise.
[Audiobook note: This is read by Lenny Henry, who was the star of the BBC show "Chef". He does a wonderful job.] ( )
  Treebeard_404 | Jan 23, 2024 |
I was a bit disappointed with this one. It was charming, like all the Gaiman books I've read, but it felt like it was missing a sort of narrative drive. Even American Gods, whose main character is nightmarishly passive, manages to make the story feel like it's evolving and substantial, but I felt like we were lollygagging here. ( )
  AdioRadley | Jan 21, 2024 |
I was expecting this book to be a lot like American Gods. I wanted to read more about Mr. Nancy's (character from American Gods) antics in the book but, it had absolutely nothing to do with that book. It was so much fun to check out the tv show after reading that book, I can only imagine how much fun it will be to watch Anansi Boys when it drops on Amazon prime in the coming few years.

It is about Mr.Nancy's offspring and whatever craziness and zaniness they get up to after their meeting. Extremely funny at times and engaging once you get into it, which will most likely be the first 10 pages, it was for me. The two main characters are Fat "Charlie" Nancy and Spider, oh boy , does it go haywire right after their "chance" (haha) encounter. They get into all sorts of situations, as you can imagine, which helps the book move along at lightening speed and keeps you intrigued right till the very end.

Anansi boys was completely different to American Gods. The two cannot be compared. I enjoyed both equally. It is a much much easier read than American Gods, thats for sure. ( )
  bookdevourer2024 | Jan 21, 2024 |
It takes a little while to get into the book, but once you get into the meat of it, you just have to find out what happens to the main character "Fat Charlie." Charlie's life just changed for boringly normal and quiet to a whirlwind ride. Not only does his father, whom he wasn't all that close to, die, but he finds out that he also has a long lost brother! Enter all of the other main characters off on their own tangents and the story soon spins into a web that mirrors the character that the book is really about. Good reading, if a little slow to start. ( )
  LinBee83 | Aug 23, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 446 (next | show all)
Gaiman kutoo tapansa mukaan sujuvan ja houkuttelevan kertomuksen, joka ammentaa tarinoiden ja myyttien maailmasta. Sujuvan lukukokemuksen viimeistelee onnistunut suomennos.

Gaimaniin mieltyneille Hämähäkkijumala on puolipakollinen kirjahyllyn täyte ja kevytfantasiaa hakeville ihan yhtä hyvä tutustumiskirja kuin mikä tahansa varhaisempi romaani. Vaikka kirjan juoni ei juuri yllätäkään, Gaiman esittelee tarinankertojan lahjaansa: kykyä tehdä mahdottomasta todenmakuista.
added by msaari | editKeskisuomalainen, Riku Ylönen (Jan 30, 2009)
 
And Charlie, who has become a successful singer and fathered a son, has come to terms with the powers and responsibilities of ''a boy who was half a god," having learned what Gaiman knows better, and communicates more forcefully, than any other contemporary writer: Stories and poems, songs and myths, represent us, sustain and complete us, and survive us, while also ensuring that all that's best in us survives with them.
added by stephmo | editBoston Globe, Bruce Allen (Nov 20, 2005)
 
The focus on Anansi and tricksters, I think, goes a long way towards explaining the tone of this novel. It really feels more like some of the established "funny" sci-fi/fantasy authors (like Gaiman's Good Omens co-author Terry Pratchett) than "classic" Neil.
added by stephmo | editPopMatters, Stephen Rauch (Nov 7, 2005)
 
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.
 
Anansi Boys contains a couple of traditional-style Anansi fables, and the book itself takes a similar ambling but wry, pointed tone; like any good Anansi story, it's about cleverness, appetite, and comeuppance, and it's funny in a smart, inclusive way. And like any good Gaiman book, it's about the places where the normal world and a fantastic one intersect, and all the insightful things they have to say about each other.
 

» Add other authors (14 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Gaiman, Neilprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Henry, LennyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hopkinson, NaloIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mcginnis, RobertCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Trueblood, HoustonCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vallejo, FrancisIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
You know how it is, you pick up a book, flip to the dedication, and find that, once again, the author has dedicated a book to someone else and not to you.

Not this time.

Because we haven't yet met/have only a glancing acquaintance/are just crazy about each other/haven't seen each other in much too long/are in some way related/will never meet, but will, I trust, despite that, always think fondly of each other ....

This one's for you.

With you know what, and you probably know why.
NOTE: The author would like to take this opportunity to tip his hat respectfully to the ghosts of Zora Neale Hurston, Thorne Smith, P.G. Wodehouse, and Frederick "Tex" Avery.
First words
It begins, as most things begin, with a song.
Quotations
Fat Charlie wondered what Rosie's mother would usually hear in a church. Probably just cries of "Back! Foul beast of Hell!" followed by gasps of "Is it alive?" and a nervous inquiry as to whether someone had remembered to bring the stakes and hammers. (Chapter 5)
"Your job is safe and sound. Safe as houses. As long as you remain the model of circumspection and discretion you have been so far."
"How safe are houses," asked Fat Charlie.
"Extremely safe."
"It's just that I read somewhere that most accidents occur in the home." (Chapter 5)
"The ties of blood," said Spider, "Are stronger than water."
"Water's not strong," objected Fat Charlie.
"Stronger than vodka, then. Or volcanoes". (Chapter 6)
The beast made the noise of a cat being shampooed, a lonely wail of horror and outrage, of shame and defeat. (Chapter 13)
"I figured even if there was a nuclear war, it would still leave radioactive cockroaches and your mum." (Chapter 14, Charlie speaking to Rosie)
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Fiction. HTML:

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, 20 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. Because 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. And all of a sudden, things start getting very interesting for Fat Charlie. Exciting, scary, and deeply funny, Anansi Boys is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth, a wild adventure, as Neil Gaiman shows us where gods come from, and how to survive your family.

.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Set in the same world as American Gods, but not a sequel to it.



In Anansi Boys we discover that 'Mr. Nancy' (Anansi) has two sons, and the two sons in turn discover each other. The novel follows their adventures as they explore their common heritage.
Haiku summary
Moral of the book

can't be: In order to find

yourself, wear a hat.

(legallypuzzled)

Current Discussions

OT - Signed limited edition Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman in Folio Society Devotees

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.94)
0.5 5
1 34
1.5 11
2 219
2.5 45
3 1132
3.5 317
4 2467
4.5 251
5 1437

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,197,764 books! | Top bar: Always visible