![]() |
#1 |
Bah, humbug!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 39,072
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
June 2015 Discussion: American Gods (spoilers)
The time has come to discuss the June 2015 MobileRead Book Club selection, American Gods by Neil Gaiman. What did you think?
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Bah, humbug!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 39,072
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
Alka-Selzer? Really? This give a whole new meaning to the phrase "product placement".
|
![]() |
![]() |
Advert | |
|
![]() |
#3 |
Bah, humbug!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 39,072
Karma: 157049943
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.
|
I can't believe there's been so little discussion of this one, especially since Covingtoncat73 has posted so many quotes from it recently on Goodreads, and even one in the Notable quotes, excerpts, and profound lines thread.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
(he/him/his)
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 12,193
Karma: 79742714
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sunshine Coast, BC
Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8
|
I'm still waiting to get my copy from the library. At least I'm next on the list.
![]() I do wonder, though, how many others actually read it, since no one is commenting. Or was the book that uninteresting? Should I not bother reading it when the BC Library finally gives me my copy? |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Wizard
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 1,375
Karma: 26915798
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
I have a high regard for the YA work of Neil Gaiman and I had been told that American Gods is a masterpiece.
I haven't quite finished the book but I am disappointed. There is indeed the dark irony one finds in other works of his that I have read but I have reservations about the explicitly sexual content in this book which doesn't always illuminate thematic or character development. The very first passage is possibly an exception to this negative criticism as it could be read as a parodic parable about the self-destructive nature of certain types of masculine stereotypical gender behaviour. But I think that other sections add little. I find too that the book is overlong. Many sections seem simply to grind away for pages. Yes, there are some quite interesting passages too. Sometimes the prose really does catch fire--particularly in dream sequences. Possibly, this is a book that may gain on re-reading but at the moment, I'm not especially looking forward to doing so. |
![]() |
![]() |
Advert | |
|
![]() |
#6 |
Grand Sorcerer
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 19,226
Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
|
^I'm with fantasyfan on loving Neil's YA work. The Graveyard Book is just so much fun and the illustrated books like Fortunately, the Milk are a lot of fun to read with my son.
I think Neil is trying a bit too hard in places to put a bit of everything in. I too loved the dream sequences and the myth and folklore in it. I can definitely see how it would be a strain for many, but overall I really enjoyed this. It's a book I would recommend to some people but not others and that's probably where this is going to stand for people: a boring mess or genius. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 |
Hiding with an ereader
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 391
Karma: 3987376
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Kitchener Ontario
Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony PRS 950, Ipad 2, PRS 350
|
i read The Ocean at the End of The Lane a few months ago. At that time it was the only Gaiman I had read and and I loved it. It was concise, beautiful and thoughtful.
I was really looking forward to American Gods, but I was really disappointed. I found it inflated and sometimes just plain boring. The writing reminded me a little of the Gunslinger series, which I gave up on after about 4 books for the same reason. I had a hard time finishing the last third - I just didn't care much what happened. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Addict
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Posts: 254
Karma: 2092424
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Arlington, TX
Device: Kindle PW4, Moon+ Reader on a cheap Android tablet
|
I don't think I've posted in any of the book club threads before, but since I just happen to be about 70% through American Gods, I thought I would add my 2 cents here.
I'm actually in line with many of you. I've read several of Gaiman's story collections, and a year or two ago I read and loved Neverwhere - so I was looking forward to American Gods as it bubbled to the top of my TBR pile. But it's been something of a disappointment - even though I am enjoying it and it's not a slog to read through, I find that I don't really care how it ends (which is my "barometer" of whether a novel is really worth reading). |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
MobileRead March 2015 Discussion: West with the Night (spoilers) | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 33 | 09-01-2015 02:23 PM |
MobileRead May 2015 Discussion: Our Man in Havana (spoilers) | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 13 | 06-01-2015 09:23 AM |
MobileRead January 2015 Discussion: The Iron King (spoilers) | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 16 | 01-31-2015 02:50 PM |
MobileRead June 2014 Discussion: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (spoilers) | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 11 | 11-10-2014 03:37 PM |
MobileRead June Discussion: Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (spoilers) | WT Sharpe | Book Clubs | 8 | 07-25-2012 04:59 AM |