Sunday, February 22, 2009

I'm finished...

reading the novel, American Gods. I have always been fascinated by the many pantheons of deities in the world, mostly Greco-Roman gods, but this novel brought back knowledge from my childhood when I read about Egyptian gods as well as the Norse. I found myself thankful to my high school teachers for perpetuating my desire, nay... passion... for reading through things like Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythologies.

In one scene in the novel, I found myself smiling about a particular reference to a character needing a mistletoe stick in order to kill another character who, apparently, is a son of Odin, the king of the Norse gods. I smiled because I knew the reference was to Balder, Odin's son, who is paralleled with someone in the book. It just reinforces the idea of what I tell my students that they need to know "things", like mythology, because you never know when you'll need to be "in" on the joke or understand the obscure reference.

In any event, novel exceeded my expectations, namely because of the complexities of the plot development. The main character, Shadow, has his life redirected so many times, it's a wonder that he didn't lose his mind with everything he had to do for Mr. Wednesday. Another interesting fact is that "Wednesday" comes from "Woden's Day," and Woden is a name used by Odin... so, I guess you can figure out who represents the king of the Æsir (one of the principal groups of the Norse pantheon). I remain fascinated by Gaiman's personification of various gods and goddesses, namely Thoth, Ibis, and Easter (which is more of a festival than a true divine figure, unless you consider her personified as Ishtar, a goddess of fertility, love, and sex).

More to come!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Done.

I have already mentioned the Literary Lethargy that has gripped me, but to truly understand how I feel about 'American Gods' I have to expand on it a little. For 12 years I worked in the book industry, working my way from part-time bookseller all the way to buyer and event coordinator. Books are in my blood, it was not uncommon for me to read 2 or 3 in a week.
In January 2008, I left the book world for a job in the entertainment industry. It was a tough transition, and one that was not entirely in my hands. Because of that, I had a very difficult time reading. I would read in fits and starts, in many cases, abandoning books halfway through(which is something I had never done). It was incredibly depressing, and a barometer for how I perceived the rest of my life.
About a month ago, David and I were talking on the phone about the fact that we liked to read but had no one to discuss the books with. David suggested this book club and we chose 'American Gods' as the first book. I was extremely excited and picked up my copy about a week later.
I had read 'American Gods' when it was first released in 2001, but had not committed very much of it to memory. Diving into it was like reading it for the first time. 'Gods' tells the story of Shadow, who after serving a stint in prison is employed my the mysterious Mr. Wednesday. Wednesday has this otherworldly quality from the moment he appears (literally...literally, ha!) and it soon becomes apparent that Wednesday is the human manifestation of a Norse god. Shadow becomes his errand boy as they travel the country recruiting other Old World gods to wage war against the New Gods (Media, Technology, Industry) in a battle that promises to dictate the future of religion.
The above description of the plot is deceptively simple. The story is so much more than that. Gaiman's writing is intricate without being inaccessible. Threads and asides are introduced seemingly at random, only to pop up later as very important aspects of the story. For a while, I wondered if Gaiman was actually responsible for the tv show 'Lost,' not JJ Abrams. The Queen of Sheba is now a prostitute in LA? How's that for clever?
Characters are one important aspect of the story: without someone to sympathize with, it's tough for the reader to care about the story. Gaiman gives us that in spades. However, another very important aspect is the setting. Wednesday and Shadow travel the length and breadth of the United States, but never have I been so enchanted with the locales: The House on the Rock, in Wisconsin; Rock City, Georgia; an undertaker's home in Chicago; The geographical center of the USA near Lebanon, Kansas. I found myself shutting the book and googling these places. Many of them are actual places. I feel a road trip coming on!!!
Between the story, the characters and the setting, I was completely immersed, in ways I hadn't been in so long. It felt so good to be totally taken in like that, it seriously warmed my heart.
There were only a couple of problems I had: I would like to have seen the Greek Pantheon represented in the story. Almost everyone else was. I suppose Gaiman did that intentionally, as the public is most familiar with them. It did give other cultures a chance to shine. Still a throwaway mention of Athena would have been nice.
Another issue was the epilogue and the afterword. The one problem most people had with the film adaptation of 'The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King' was the endless procession of endings. 'Gods' started to feel like that. I am sure there could have been a better way to integrate the endings into the actual story wrap up.

I am already looking forward to the next book. Thank you David and Neil Gaiman for bringing me back to Literary Life.

Friday, February 13, 2009

While we're waiting for David to catch up

Check out the story project David and I participated in and be sure to leave feedback.

http://epasp2009.blogspot.com/

It was alot of fun and we are anxious to hear what others think!!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

So far...

While David is off to New York Comic Con, watching the new Wonder Woman animated film, meeting other comic geeks, rubbing shoulders with Comic Giants, and other things that couldn't possible interest me in the least, I have conquered the first 120 pages of the book.
What I like about Neil Gaiman is that he is able to set the tone for the book within the first page. Shadow, our protagonist, is about to be let out of prison for an unnamed crime. From the second you learn this, you already get a sense of foreboding...a feeling that Shadow would do well to stay on the inside. This colors every conversation, every gesture and every moment you spend with Shadow. I don't want to spoil things, but soon this proves to be true.
Quickly, Gaiman introduces Mr. Wednesday...and otherworldly sort of character who becomes Shadow's employer, and possibley benefactor. What kind of job does he require of Shadow? Not a very upstanding one.
When David gets back, we will discuss more...