Anansi Boys: A Novel

Anansi Boys: A Novel
by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys: A Novel
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Book Summary Information

Author: Neil Gaiman
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2005-09-20
ISBN: 006051518X
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: William Morrow

Book Reviews of Anansi Boys: A Novel

Book Review: Good - but not great
Summary: 4 Stars

Having been recently introduced to Neil Gaiman through _American Gods_, I just HAD to read _Anansi Boys_. Perhaps it was because I was so impressed with _American Gods_ and the high bar Gaiman has set for himself as a result, that I was less impressed by _Anansi Boys_.

The first quarter of the book was difficult to get into - I missed the wit and humour of Gaiman, and the plot was slow to develop. However, once the "boys" (from the title - I don't want to spoil the story) get together and the mischief for which Anansi is so well known begins to happen, the magic of Gaiman's storytelling shows through. Were it not for the slow start, the book would certainly warrant five stars; as another reviewer remarked, if the book were written by another author, perhaps I would be more forgiving and award it five. As it is, Gaiman is a victim of his own brilliance in this case, hence the four.

I do recommend the book - the anecdotes and wit that Gaiman is so well-known for is here, as is his unique ability to weave mythology with reality. Still, _Anansi Boys) isn't Gaiman's best work by far.

Summary of Anansi Boys: A Novel

One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modern age -- complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. Not to mention a lime.

Anansi Boys
God is dead. Meet the kids.

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat 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 is 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."


Anansi Boys
God is dead. Meet the kids.

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat 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 is 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."

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