Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

It’s no surprise that Neil Gaimen delivers a beautifully written story that is as much a portrait of (pre-9/11) America as it is an exploration of death in juxtaposition to life.

For context, I listened to the 10th Anniversary edition of the Authors Preferred Text, featuring a forward and postscript from Gaimen, as well as a bonus chapter. For being an audiobook that is more than 10 years old, it held up really well!

Characters:
Shadow, our protagonist, who is admittedly an odd duck. His blasé reaction to the escalating strangeness of his encounters throughout the book begs the question: who is this guy? We only get a few passages about his life before Laura, his wife. Nearly nothing about his upbringing or formative years. I felt like I kept waiting for the character to emerge from the stupor left in the wake of the untimely deaths of his wife and best friend (and the tangential fall out thereafter).

But Shadow was a pretty blank slate, an intentional decision, I’m sure. (Obviously, it’s Gaiman)His whole issue, his flaw, is that he hasn’t died, but he’s not truly living either. He seems to feel very little emotion for the first half of the book at least, only really allowing himself to break down once - after burying his wife, after revelations come to light at the funeral no less. It’s odd though, only until other characters frame this “not dead, not living” part of him as a problem, does he seem to start considering it a negative thing.

But in a way the way he seems to be sitting and watching the world like someone looking out from a living room window. Pretty passive? It’s weird, but in a way also zen as hell too, how he lets the world move around him like water around a stone.

As you can tell I can’t really puzzle him out. And neither can any of the other characters either. He’s smart, courageous, kind and humble. His motivations belies the desperation he barely acknowledges. Because, he still is, even with my careful reflection, still so, so hollow.

He’s a lone character though, remaining guarded to everyone who crosses his path. His internal dialogue is just as guarded, and often willfully in denial. It’s like he sees this crazy shit going on, and thinks ‘wow I’m more exhausted than I realized”

😐😑

Ultimately, it does give the book a rather bleak atmosphere throughout.

At least there are interesting intermissions from Shadow’s POV introducing us to some batshit insane Gods or breaking up the plot with historical accounts of how the Gods arrived to America. From crossing the land bridge to arriving as an enslaved child.

I found these asides enhanced the atmosphere of the book, it was also a refreshing way to step away from the main plot and recenter it rather seamlessly.

Writing and Story: I know I mentioned that I do appreciate when an Author doesn’t coddle the reader with ceaseless reference information to find all the answers just as quickly as possible. No hand holding, No easy payoff, no simple answers, especially the symbolic meanings or thematic elements.

The story is well crafted, simple in the way that it’s impressive to have happened. By that I mean, the story beats jump in bursts and starts, with characters seemingly staring down a barrel (literally and figuratively) with little warning more than a few times. And yet, it’s streamlined. Considered. Deliberate.

I enjoy writers like Neil Gaimen. Those that remind me of my favorite author, Richard Powers. Even though none of Powers books are my favorite (The Overstory does come close) - and I wouldn’t wish for a world where all the books I read are as much an experience in story as in language.

Content Warnings

chronicacademia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

dramagnu's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

saturdayreaderinpink's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

General Thoughts

This was fantastic in many, many ways. Gaiman writes with mysterious authority composed of mysticism and absurd amounts of ultra-specific detail that makes his story feel alive. All plot points wrap up satisfyingly. The one reservation I have is the themes of race in American Gods. Most of it felt respectful to me (a white girl who’s knowledge of the cultures covered is limited), but some of the descriptions of skin color and

the ending part where the buffalo is the land and tells Shadow that the gods and people who brought them are there because they suit the land

, would not surprise me if critiqued. This book kept me guessing and some plot twists swept me away. Gaiman is, again, an excellent writer. American Gods is worth the read.

Favorite Quotes

“Something feels weird,” he told Laura. That wasn’t the first thing he said to her. The first thing was “I love you,” because it’s a good thing to say if you can mean it, and Shadow did.

Every hour wounds. The last one kills.—OLD SAYING

And finally, producing a half-rueful grin, he realized that most of all he wanted everything to be normal. He wanted never to have gone to prison, for Laura to still be alive, for none of this ever to have happened. “I’m afraid that’s not exactly an option, m’boy,” he thought to himself, in Wednesday’s gruff voice, and he nodded agreement. Not an option. You burned your bridges. So keep walking. Do your own time…

No man, proclaimed Donne, is an Island, and he was wrong.

She turns to pretty Marie and sees herself through Marie’s eyes, a black-skinned old woman, her face lined, her bony arm hanging limply by her side, her eyes the eyes of one who has seen her children fight in the trough for food from the dogs. She saw herself, and she knew then for the first time the revulsion and the fear the younger woman had for her.

Whiskey Jack reached out a hand the color of the red clay, and he touched Shadow’s face, gently. His irises were light brown banded with dark brown, and in that face those eyes seemed luminous. “Eyah,” he said. “It’s true. If you hunt the thunderbird you could bring your woman back. But she belongs to the wolf, in the dead places, not walking the land.” “How do you know?” asked Shadow. Whiskey Jack’s lips did not move. “What did the Buffalo tell you?” “To believe.” “Good advice. Are you going to follow it?” “Kind of. I guess.” They were talking without words, without mouths, without sound. Shadow wondered if, for the other two men in the room, they were standing, unmoving, for a heartbeat or for a fraction of a heartbeat. “When you find your tribe, come back and see me,” said Whiskey Jack. “I can help.” “I shall.”

The madman nodded. “Horus,” he said. “I am the falcon of the morning, the hawk of the afternoon. I am the sun. As you are the sun. And I know the true name of Ra. My mother told me.” “That’s great,” said Shadow, politely.

“I feed on death that is dedicated to me,” said Wednesday. “Like my death on the tree,” said Shadow. “That,” said Wednesday, “was special.”

Content Warnings

soph22's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

cstein's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A couple too many driving scenes and stays in decrepit hotels/houses bogged down the narrative in the middle. However, overall I found it to be a provocative and authentic-feeling exploration of American culture, rounded out by a slow burn small-town mystery and anchored by a fantastical romance.

Content Warnings

gracklewarp's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

szote's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

More...