Forgive the bad Asian food metaphor. I thought of it early on while reading American Gods, and I liked it so much that I had to use it.
See, Stardust is fried rice. It’s nondescript. Everyone likes it. Sure, it may have elements that you don’t like, say watercress, or things that you wonder why it’s in there — broccoli or celery — but pretty much, everyone likes fried rice. It’s good. It’s simple. It’s tasty.
But, American Gods is kim chee. (Hubby took issue with this; he likes Korean food. I have to admit that I do too.) It’s loud. It’s obnoxious. It’s spicy. It’s not easily accessible. It takes some real getting used to. Not many people eat kim chee for the first time and say “Wow! This fermented spicy cabbage is THE BEST THING OUT THERE!” (I know I didn’t. I thought, when Hubby and I were dating and he took me to a Korean restaurant that he was eating one of the grossest things I’ve ever seen.)
American Gods is one weird book. As I thought about it, I’m not sure if it’s awful weird or brilliant weird. While I was reading, it was kind of awful weird. It’s incredibly vulgar and basically without a plot until the last 1/4 of the book. I felt like I was a car stuck in the mud, wheels spinning. Shadow, as a main character, is interesting, but actionless. He’s just a drifter, someone who moves from story to story within the book. I skipped whole sections, wondering about the point of that particular weird encounter or story. (Especially the interludes. They were really weird, and pretty pointless.)
But, after finishing it (at the end I thought, “REALLY! That’s it? That’s the whole point?!”), and thinking about it, and talking to Hubby about it, I began to realize the brilliance of the whole thing. You’re supposed to feel like a car spinning in the mud. The main character’s supposed to be a ruse, a distraction. That’s because (sorry, can’t avoid the spoilers) it’s all one big con. Not just for the characters, but for reader as well. Sure, if you’re a close reader (which I’m not), you would have picked up on the clues (brilliant foreshadowing), and figured it out way before I did. But, even so, when it’s all said and done, I think it’s a brilliant concept.
See? It’s Korean food. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, it just might be some of the best stuff you’ve eaten. (It just might not be for everyone.)
The Book Nut 
I didn’t like it. Don’t know why, but I didn’t. Coraline, now that I liked. 😉
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I think I like it more in retrospect than I did while I was reading it. It really was a weird book. Coraline (or Neverwhere)is next up on my Gaiman journey. (Someday.)
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You know what, I loved this. I really like your metaphor as well, this isn’t to everyones tastes but it suited mine.
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What a great review! Really well done!
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Wonderful review, Melissa. I loved the metaphors.
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I adored <>American Gods<>, both while I was reading it and even now, over two years later. And I loved the sequel/companion <>Anansi Boys<>, even more!(I can totally understand why they aren’t for everyone, though.)
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I’m like you…I wasn’t too sure about it while reading it, but after I was finished and had time to ponder it, I decided I liked it. It was wonderfully strange.I didn’t realize Anansi Boys was a sequel/companion. I may have to get my hands on it.
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I certainly agree with your overall assessment of the book and the fact that it is both weird in comparison to many other books out there and is not something everyone can or would get in to.I totally disagree about your assessment of the plot. Various and sundry plot threads start up right at the beginning and are woven together brilliantly throughout the book. They are admittedly confusing when little chapters on various gods pop up here and there that appear to have nothing to do with the plot, but again this thing is plotted brilliantly. In addition to Anansi Boys you should get ahold of a copy of Fragile Things as the last story in it is a novella about Shadow and it is a good one.
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