Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
When I was reading Neil Gaiman's American Gods, my current manager told me Gaiman is his favorite author. He recommended Good Omens, calling it the funniest book he has ever read. At the time, that statement did not make much sense to me. American Gods is surreal and even weird, but by no means laugh out loud funny.
After reading Anansi Boys, I get it.
While both books are based on the idea of classic gods in the modern world, the tone of the two books could not be more different. American Gods can be compared to a Stephen King novel, if not in subject, but in darkness.
Anansi Boys read like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy only poking fun at mythology rather than science fiction and theology
. For those not familiar with the fabulous Douglas Adams, please proceed to your local library with great haste. Warning: Do not attempt to drink milk while reading Hitchhiker's; You will laugh hard enough to spew it out your nose.
There are two things about Anansi Boys that reminded me of Hitchhiker's.
First is the mundane being invaded by the extraordinary with little alarm on the part of those who's lives are turned upside down. In Anansi Boys, Fat Charlie leads a good, if unspectacular, life in London. He has a job and is soon to be married to a truly nice girl.
His life changing event is attending his father's funereal in Florida where he spend his childhood in utter embarrassment of everything his father did. When the ancient lady who lived next door to his dad tells him she knew his dad when she was a little girl, he doesn't understand. What he learns is that his father was the human form of the African god of story and mischief, Anansi.
Now, a dead father, god or not, can only do so much to change a man's life. It's Fat Charlie brother who inherited their father's godlike qualities that really shakes up Charlie's world.
Also like Hitchhiker's Guide, characters are introduced with far more intimate way then they would reveal even to their nearest and dearest. We see the flaws people hide from even themselves. There is humor in the descriptions, yet they reveal much. For example, it is clear that Charlie's intended is not so passionate about him as she is about upsetting her mother by marrying someone her mother hates. The reader is aware of this problem long before the fincee admits it to herself.
I am extremely excited to report that there is a very good reason for the parallels between a book I have loved for many years and a book I have only just discovered. Neil Gaiman wrote Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in which Gaiman interview Adams about all things Hitchhiker. I didn't know anything about this connection while I was reading Anansi Boys, but discovered it while researching for this post on Amazon.
While I love the connection to an old favorite, Anansi Boys is an original novel. I'd recommend to readers who enjoy fantasy or humor. Or both.
Happy Reading.
Trackbacks
-
2/13/2008 4:44 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/5/2008 4:23 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/5/2008 4:14 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/8/2008 11:39 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/8/2008 10:42 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/8/2008 10:41 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/7/2008 11:31 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/4/2008 12:45 AM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/3/2008 8:38 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
2/3/2008 8:36 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
1/29/2008 2:13 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
1/27/2008 10:59 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ... -
1/24/2008 1:10 PM
The Creative Nerd wrote:
I love reading. I love books. I love sharing my thoughts on what I have read. It should come was no surprise to anyone who knows me that the most populated category of posts for this blog is "Books." My goal for 2008 is to blog every book I read. In an effort not to miss a book, I am also starting a list. For what interest it may hold for readers and for my own use, I humbly present my reading list for the year to be updated as I read and subsequently blog many, many booksHappy Reading, Friends: ...
Comments