The Gods Must Be Blind

[dotinthesky]

Neil Gaiman, American Gods, 2002
Awards sometimes go to the wrong people. Anyone who saw Titanic win nearly a dozen Oscars knows what I'm talking about; what was celebrated that night was the marketing power to sell millions of cinema tickets rather than cinematic genius. When I picked up this novel, I had no clue this was the case too with Gaiman's victory at the Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker awards. Gaiman was celebrated for his "great" American novel but I have no doubt that he was awarded for being a cult figure that shifts copies rather than a decent writer. American Gods is everything but good writing and Neil Gaiman's spiritual siblings are Dean Koontz, Dan Brown and Danielle Steel.

Over 600 flat(ulent) pages, Gaiman tells a lot of mediocre tall tales and shows nearly nothing in his non-existant plot. The story follows the release of two-dimensional Shadow from prison and the discovery of his wife and best friend's death to encounters and travels with gods from the "Old Countries" who need his help in an upcoming war. Gods that are made indistinguishable from each other through pointless dialogue. Gods that are in a war with America's new Gods (Media God, Credit Card God, Television God, etc.) The God, though, that seems to win in nearly every page is the God of Sleep (with a lot of help from the God of Tedium).

If Gaiman wanted to successfully incorporate Native American myths into his novel, he should have studied Thomas King's work (Green Grass, Running Water in particular).  For Science Fiction that plays with religion in a thought-provoking way, he could have turned to Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. For great American road novels, Jim Dodge's Not Fade Away could have helped.  And even for the lacklustre horror that didn't deserve a Bram Stoker, he could have taken a thing or two from Stephen King's early work.

This is the first time I've read something by Gaiman so I'm reluctant to assume his other work is equally mediocre. But if he won awards for this one, I can only image the treasure trove of cliched metaphors and hackneyed settings awaiting me elsewhere. Hopefully no Gods will trick me into making that mistake again.

Comments

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

His graphic novels are pretty good.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

The Sandman series right? Did he draw and write them, or just write?

[amberholic.livejournal.com]

Actually, I haven't read the Sandman series, I was referring to Books of Magic. He also wrote Coraline and Stardust (haven't read Coraline but loved Stardust).

[stevenothing.livejournal.com]

He wrote it. Different artists worked on each episode, although usually consistent for a story arc.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yes, a good editor would have picked on "Shadow does a runner".

[stevenothing.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, depending upon where you bought it, you might have been reading a localised version.

I've been reading a US version of Harry Potter recently (it was the only one I could find as a bittorrent download) and the language is jarring. Someone, apparently from middle-class suburban England, talking about his boogers and his mom. Makes it harder to suspend disbelief.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Mine is an extended version of the novel - "author's preferred text" - which was for sure part of the problem. It felt bloated from the start.

[petercampbell.livejournal.com]

I didn't mind American Gods, - it kept me reading though to the end - but he's massively overrated. I HATED the Sandman series. Goth with pretensions.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I read a tiny bit of Sandman when it first came out in the 80s and I was a kid who collected comics. I'd like to revisit it and see whether the artists added a lot to his words through the power of their images.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

His short stories are better.

[knacker-prince.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Anansi Boys, which is meant to be American Gods-lite. It's quite tongue-in-cheek.
His style is very pop cultural, kind of like a geeky 1980s movie.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

There was a certain tongue-in-cheekness to this one too, in particular with the character Mr Wednesday, but I thought it was badly done. It wasn't as amusing as he thought it was.

[izzybees]

Thank you.

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

I absolutely loved "Sandman" when I read it but haven't liked any of his novels that I've tried. You should try to get the first couple of "Sandman" trades if you want to see what all the fuss is about.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to for ages. It will be make or break for me.

[stevenothing.livejournal.com]

I quite liked American Gods. Read it a couple of times now. He's definitely overrated, and almost certainly still reaping the kudos from Sandman.

Sandman is brilliant. Highly recommended.

I also loved Stardust (the illustrated version; it just isn't the same without Charles Vess's imagery).

Neverwhere is also really good. I loved the TV series when it was on, although it hasn't aged well.

Anasi boys I wasn't too taken with. Readable, I guess. Coraline, likewise. Hit and miss. 1602 and Black Orchid - again, okayish.

His short stories have occasional hints of brilliance, with a lot of middling work in the middle. Smoke and Mirrors is the better of the collections, in my opinion.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I liked Stardust the movie. Tried to watch Coraline the other night and was enjoying it before I got interrupted.

I'm concluding from your comment that he's a bit "meh". ;-)

[stevenothing.livejournal.com]

Kind of. Moments of brilliance, but inconsistent. Nothing he's done recently has wowed me.