American Gods by Neil Gaiman
*Picture taken on a window ledge that oversee the Malacca, Malaysia landscape*
Why did I pick up this book again? Oh yes, it was the impressive few pages of praises sung by many that prompted my purchase decision. Couldn’t go that wrong, right?
Right…
Shadow, the main character, has more of a human character in the beginning. I can kinda ‘feel’ him. As the pages turned, I feel less and less for the character and at some point totally fail to connect with him. You see, a really good book is just like a really good movie – you need to be able to connect with the characters. Simply put, I have no idea what type of person he is, what kind of principles he is living with, and what kind of reaction do I expect from him in a certain type of situation.
This whole book is about the impending war between Old vs New Gods in the inhospitable land of America. Old Gods from various parts of the world are brought into America when the immigrants arrived, and then promptly being replaced by New Gods of technology, such as railway, internet, handphones, etc. Of course this huge war between gazillion gods can only be averted by the action of one man and one man alone. No prizes for guessing who is it.
The storyline is quite predictable even though the gods-characters are not. Funny, when you think about it. The human exhibits very little human character whereas the Gods have very human traits.
Beware though, the multitudes of Gods that Neil Gailman put into his book might give you an otherworldly headache if you are not familiar with, let’s see, Nordic, Indian, Egypt, Viking and other religions.
With a book title like this you would expect a moral at the end of story, a big ending of some sort. Well, sorry, this book really is a disappointment all around.
BookDeprived’s verdict: Maybe as a sleep aid
Difficulty to Read: Quite… in the sense that you will get bored or frustrated or confused
Suitable for: People who likes to get bored
Malaysia Price: MYR 34.90 from Times
ISBN number: 0-380-78903-5
Publisher: Harper Torch Fiction
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