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American Gods

A Novel

By Neil Gaiman

(50)

| Hardcover | 9780380973651

Book Description

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 releaseContinue

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.

5 Reviews

  • 1 person find this helpful

    American Gods

    I really enjoyed so much about this book, on many different levels - the references to the gods of many different beliefs (and the ways those gods were worshiped and in some cases how they came to be), having those same gods take on very appropriate human disguises, using nomenclature for the mode ... (continue)

    I really enjoyed so much about this book, on many different levels - the references to the gods of many different beliefs (and the ways those gods were worshiped and in some cases how they came to be), having those same gods take on very appropriate human disguises, using nomenclature for the modern gods that brings Pilgrims Progress to mind. I think this is one of the only books I have read where the protagonist dies 2/3 of the way through the work. I enjoyed that the story took place in many locations I was extremely familiar with and was astonished when I found out that the author lives in Ireland - he has his middle America down so well (as well as his American voice). The book is well written and paced. Both the dialog and characters are memorable. This is my first Neil Gaiman book, but definitely not my last.

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    ― Readingrat said on Dec 24, 2007 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Yay! I finally had some time to finish it! My reading time was so sporadic while I was at school, so I think I did myself a disservice with this book. I did quite like this book, but there was so much gap between reading sessions that I found myself not remembering details that I should have and the ... (continue)

    Yay! I finally had some time to finish it! My reading time was so sporadic while I was at school, so I think I did myself a disservice with this book. I did quite like this book, but there was so much gap between reading sessions that I found myself not remembering details that I should have and then I had a sense of not connecting properly with the characters. I do highly recommend it to others, though, as well as it's wonderful follow-up, Anansi Boys.

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    ― dalai lala said on Jun 23, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

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Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780380973651 Hardcover $26.99 $17.81 Amazon US
£16.38 -- Amazon UK
$28.95 $18.24 Amazon CA
¥3312.00 ¥2981.00 Amazon JP
€20.17 €20.17 Amazon FR
-- €21.5 Amazon DE
$26.00 $20.80 bn.com
Other editions →
+ 8 copies tradable: 2 in USA →

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