American Gods (2001)

by Neil Gaiman

An ex-con gets wrapped up in the machinations of gods who were brought to America with their believers and now languish in commonplace lives, stripped of much of their power as belief in them has waned.

 

They face the rise of new gods born from the faith modern American society places in such things as the media and technology.

 

This book has many passionate fans and it won a slew of prestigious awards.

 

I just wish I could see in it what all of those people did. 

I recognize the brilliant metaphor Neil Gaiman is exploiting for dramatizing the disappearance of traditional ways and the rise of new ways of thinking.

 

Neil Gaiman

I just couldn’t get into the story, and since I had made the commitment to finish such a long book, it became rather frustrating by the time I reached the end.

  

I think my basic problem with the book comes from my feelings about mythology.

 

They are very instructive and fascinating as ways to illuminate human thought.

 

They arose spontaneously from the efforts of ancient humans to understand their worlds, not with modern ideas of storytelling and consistent world-building in mind.

 

Therefore, when used as material for the narrative of a modern novel, they come across as a random grab bag of inconsistent powers, abilities, and histories.

 

I realize that this review probably makes me look like a small-minded nitpicker who can’t see past the end of his own nose to appreciate Neil Gaiman's grand themes, but I can’t help how I feel. 

Give me a good nonfiction book that explores creation myths and how they relate to universal human thought and society and I am likely to be fascinated, but give me a novel that purports to relate the details of how Romulus and Remus were raised by the wolf and then went on to build the city of Rome and I will probably not be interested.