American Gods
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Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world.
HARPERCOLL
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Just released from prison, Shadow encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world.
HARPERCOLL
Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.
Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him introduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.
He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever he the same...
Released from prison, Shadow finds his world turned upside down. His wife has been killed; a mysterious stranger offers him a job. But Mr. Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow than is possible, warns that a storm is coming -- a battle for the very soul of America . . . and they are in its direct path.
One of the most talked-about books of the new millennium, American Gods is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an American landscape at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. It is, quite simply, a contemporary masterpiece.
The storm was coming?.Shadow spent three years in prison, keeping his head down, doing his time. All he wanted was to get back to the loving arms of his wife and to stay out of trouble for the rest of his life. But days before his scheduled release, he learns that his wife has been killed in an accident, and his world becomes a colder place.
On the plane ride home to the funeral, Shadow meets a grizzled man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A self-styled grifter and rogue, Wednesday offers Shadow a job. And Shadow, a man with nothing to lose accepts.
But working for the enigmatic Wednesday is not without its price, and Shadow soon learns that his role in Wednesday's schemes will be far more dangerous than he ever could have imagined. Entangled in a world of secrets, he embarks on a wild road trip and encounters, among others, the murderous Czernobog, the impish Mr. Nancy, and the beautiful Easter -- all of whom seem to know more about Shadow than he himself does.
Shadow will learn that the past does not die, that everyone, including his late wife, had secrets, and that the stakes are higher than anyone could have imagined.
All around them a storm of epic proportions threatens to break. Soon Shadow and Wednesday will be swept up into a conflict as old as humanity itself. For beneath the placid surface of everyday life a war is being fought -- and the prize is the very soul of America.
As unsettling as it is exhilarating, American Gods is a dark and kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth and across an America at once eerily familiar and utterly alien. Magnificently told, this work of literary magic will haunt the reader far beyond the final page.
Baker
& Taylor
On the plane home to attend the funerals of his wife and best friend, Shadow, an ex-con, encounters an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world, where the soul of America is at stake.Winner of the Hugo, Locus, Bram Stoker, and Britains SFX Awards. Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.
On the plane home to attend the funerals of his wife and best friend, Shadow, just released from prison, encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world, where the soul of America is at stake. 125,000 first printing.
On the plane home to attend the funerals of his wife and best friend, Shadow, just released from prison, encounters Mr. Wednesday, an enigmatic stranger who seems to know a lot about him, and when Mr. Wednesday offers him a job as his bodyguard, Shadow accepts and is plunged into a dark and perilous world, where the soul of America is at stake. Reprint.
Title from eBook information screen
Special features: "On the road to American gods": selected passages from Neil Gaiman's online journal
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Age
Add Age SuitabilityhDlVivace thinks this title is suitable for 16 years and over
Dr_Inferno thinks this title is suitable for 17 years and over
SailorSaturn thinks this title is suitable for 18 years and over
jabey thinks this title is suitable for 13 years and over
Notices
Add a NoticeCoarse Language: Used in conjunction with the sexual content at times. Other times swearing is prevalent with R-rated language. But language is carefully controlled to an extent and not used unneedlessly.
Sexual Content: This title contains Sexual Content.
Quotes
Add a QuoteWhat should I believe? thought Shadow, and the voice came back to him from somewhere deep beneath the world, in a bass rumble: Believe everything.
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- Print Book: All copies in use




Comment
Add a CommentI agree with GoatGirl that this is many styles of book in one. It starts as a roman picaresque (a hero's traveling adventures) set in various "heart of America" locales. Soon this travel novel becomes interwoven with a pantheon of the different gods immigrants have broght to America. This brings in a sci-fi or fantasy or paranormal (take your choice) aspect to the rambling plot. Certainly there is a sprinkle of speculative fiction and a dash character development in the mix too. Although I didn't find the book perfect (I spent a lot of time not quite knowing what was going on or where Gaiman was going with all this), I think you should read this interesting book. Interesting people read it.
A good book, though I did not like how he introduced some characters and then killed them off later on
I couldn't really understand it. I'd advise catching up on your folklore knowledge, otherwise you'll be a little lost on this one.
Interesting how he weaves all the immigrant mythologies together in a modern patchwork in a backdrop of all things Americana. It's certainly an accomplishment... but I found it too sprawling and too skewed toward male fantasy.
I've read Neverwhere and all volumes of Absolute Sandman. I've also seen Coraline. American Gods is my most recent of Gaiman's books that I have finished. To say the least, none of these disappointed me. AG is spectacular in the way Gaiman interweaves so many Old World mythologies into the logical whole of his story. I'm left flummoxed at the breadth and depth of his knowledge of myth and religion. I'd go into greater detail as to the particulars that make American Gods so amazing, but I know that would be a plot killer. I'll just leave it at my saying that the "reason" American is not a good place for gods is a very good bone to chew on. And even that doesn't capture it all. If folks liked this book, I'm certain Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series will not disappoint. Going with the Absolute Sandman collection might be the easiest way of doing that. 5 volumes and you're done.
Great book, from beginning to the surprising end!
This is a terrific book. It's part fantasy, part road trip, part mythology, part Americana, part murder mystery. It's funny and suspenseful and I really enjoyed reading it.
re-release of 2001 book. G&M reviewed, describes as a cult classic. Enjoyed this. Yet - 6 weeks later - when someone recommended it to me I had to skim a few pages before I remembered what was about. So - either not that memorable, or my memory is fading.
The old world gods and the new are preparing to battle, and a man named Shadow is caught in the middle of it all.
I absolutely loved everything about this book. From the supporting cast of gods to the main storyling, I loved it all. A good meaty story contemplating man's purpose in this world, and a study of what happens to the gods when we move on. Bet you can't read it without learning something. You will want to return to Gaimen's world as soon as you've left it!