Hardcover, 336 pages
English language
Published September 2005 by William Morrow.
One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modem age-complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer hinds. Not to mention a lime.
When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Far Charlie "Fat Charlie. Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.
Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat …
One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modem age-complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer hinds. Not to mention a lime.
When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Far Charlie "Fat Charlie. Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.
Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.
Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil Some said he could cheat even Death himself.
Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times bestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him."
After reading the Vulture/New Yorker article I have chosen to remove my reviews of this man's content from my accounts. I choose to place this text here because I think it is important to juxtaposition these things. I also don't think that pretending I never read these things is particularly helpful either.
Fat Charlie has a comfortable life in London and a lovely fiancée whose mother is hell on Earth. Fat Charlie cannot say his life is everything he has ever dreamt of, but when his father dies and he learns he is the son of a god and that he has a brother, the life he knows and Rosie are gone and Fat Charlie wants it back.
This book was a brilliant surprise. Whether you like or do not like American Gods, give this a try because there is nothing in common between the two except that there are gods in it. Fat Charlie, Spider, Rosie, Rosie's mother and Daisy are characters that we easily care about but I wasn't expecting the humour. This book is way funnier than it should be because it is beautifuly written, the characters and story evolve in a very satisfying way and it even has …
Fat Charlie has a comfortable life in London and a lovely fiancée whose mother is hell on Earth. Fat Charlie cannot say his life is everything he has ever dreamt of, but when his father dies and he learns he is the son of a god and that he has a brother, the life he knows and Rosie are gone and Fat Charlie wants it back.
This book was a brilliant surprise. Whether you like or do not like American Gods, give this a try because there is nothing in common between the two except that there are gods in it. Fat Charlie, Spider, Rosie, Rosie's mother and Daisy are characters that we easily care about but I wasn't expecting the humour. This book is way funnier than it should be because it is beautifuly written, the characters and story evolve in a very satisfying way and it even has a surprising twist in the end. I was not expecting such a novel from Gaiman, but I am immensely happy I read this. It is become one of my favourites from him.
I loved this book. There's a journey of discovery, magic, relationships, ancient tales, fear and love, all set in a contemporary world that, despite all, sounds credible. Highly recommended.
