TITLE: American Gods
AUTHOR: Neil Gaiman
PUBLISHER: William Morrow
PUBLISHED DATE: June 19, 2001
ISBN: 978-0380973651
PAGES: 480
American Gods, the TV show, started streaming on Starz on April 30, 2017. It was totally not on my radar. I have never heard of this book, or the TV show, and had no intentions on reading this book. My husband said that I should watch the show...that it was...interesting. I looked it up online to discover there was a book, and so I decided to curb watching the show in order to read the book first. Yes...I'm one of those who needs to read the book first.
I forced myself to finish the book because I really want to see the show and my impression: meh.
American Gods (if like me, you didn't already know) is about Shadow - a convict recently released from jail, who meets a devil-like 'god' on his flight home from prison. The dynamic between Shadow and the devil/god is very much like The Devil's Advocate. He goes to work for this god, and thus begins his odyssey home, to his wife's funeral, and then throughout the rest of the country working jobs for his boss/god, Mr. Wednesday, and exploring various gods throughout landmarks that tell the story of America. This book is ambitious, at times poignant, but for me it just didn't work. Though I didn't enjoy the story, I did find the premise kind of interesting even though it has a lot of similarities The Devil's Advocate. I'm sure it's loaded with symbolism and metaphors - the kind of which I'd have certainly researched to if I had been reading the print version instead of listening to the audiobook.
Cringe worthy part - the Caribbean guy singing, what felt like a full chapter long, about eating tiger balls....like really? WTF! I am writing this review before watching the show...so, I don't know if I should write a follow up review on my thoughts on the show... Maybe. That might be kind of cool.
Recommendation: I will always recommend reading the book before watching the TV show or the movie. That is all.
Audience: This is grown folks business, but I'm sure there are some adventurous teens that will read this and love it.
*I listened to this audibook on my library Hoopla account.