"This is a bad land for gods," said Shadow. As an opening statement it wasn't 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen...', but it would do. "You've probably all learned that. The old gods are ignored. The new gods are as quickly taken up as they are abandoned, cast aside for the next big thing."

In Neil Gaiman's excellent "American Gods,' Jung's assertion regarding the presence of (G)gods, irrespective to the desires of their ersatz adherents, is given fresh life. Ostensibly a darkly humerous travelogue of a recently-freed con named Shadow, the book reveals itself to be about the travels both mortals and gods alike make through life, through time, through eternity.

Read this book, and talk to your group about it. As a non-native, Gaiman's uniquely equipped to analyze the interaction between America's sprawling landscape, diverse people, and the gods they bring and then abandon to wander the windy plains and lonely byways, and his book encourages discussion of what it means to be an American, what it means to be human, and what it means to believe.

Leave it to a British born author (who now lives in America) to write what is considered one of the greatest modern American novels. American Gods, winner of multiple awards, utilizes mythology, urban and rural landscapes, and magic realism to ask the questions of what does it mean to be an American and how has the concept of “being an American” changed over time?

Don’t think for once that this novel is about patriotism. These questions bubble out of the violent war between the old world gods and the modern day gods (e.g., Media and Internet) that have controlled the landscape. In the middle of this war is Shadow, an ex-convict, betrayed by his cheating (now dead) wife and best friend. Looking for work, Shadow becomes the bodyguard of Mr. Wednesday, who we later learn is one of the old gods, Odin. As they travel across America, we get a darker vision of America – a land that feels like a tortured soul having trouble finding its sense of “self.”

What makes this book so intriguing is Mr. Gaiman’s ability create characters that feel very real and alive, including the landscape. I’m fascinated by his parallel of the characteristics between Shadow and the American landscape. Sacrifices are made at the end, but for whom? And, do the sacrifices make any difference to humanity and the future of America?

I can not understand the reviews of the book. When reading them I thought that it would be a great book. But in my opinion the book was disgusting at times. I don't think that a writer have to be iiway too out of control in describing things to get to a point.

I COULD put it down, time and again. At times the author leaves the story line for little side jaunts into philosophical territory that I found quite boring.

This is a book you either love or cannot plod through. Its a mythical allegory with many characters and plot twists that can leave you scratching your head. Nonetheless, I can understand why it has been acclaimed, but my entire group could not get into it.

Neil Gaiman is clearly a gifted writer and researcher and, in my humble opinion, is perhaps his best. It is an excellent mixture of philosophy, mystery and mythology told in a compelling way; however, the book is very dense and the reading, while rewarding, does take a bit of time. While it may not be Crime and Punishment (where I recall being told to only read 10 pages at a time), it does take committment, but its worth the read.

American Gods was not an easy read but it was very worthwhile. The entire group really liked the book even through some found it challenging to get through. We had a lively discussion and didn't even need the questions to guide us.

One of the reviews for this book said "You long for writers like Neil Gaiman...." and I have to say, at least in my case, that could not be more true. The way Gaiman creates unique characters and the worlds they inhabit, and the fact that they are out of the realm of the ordinary but you effortlessly and completely become engaged with them and consumed by their world makes reading his work the kind of experience you rarely get but so often crave as an avid reader.

American Gods is a journey and a metaphor and an exploration of a life and a world, and so many other things all rolled into one. It's quirky, complex and brilliantly written. In short, it's Neil Gaiman at his best.

At one point in the book this passage appears
"Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes....and in the world beyond the tale, we turn the page and close the book, and we resume our lives."

And so I close this book and resume my life, but I do so enriched by the journey Gaiman took me on while I read it.

The story Gaiman has created is both fantastical and mundane at the same time. The side stories about various gods are highly interesting - and sometimes graphic, so not for the squeamish. His ideas about old gods and new gods lends itself to wonderful discussions.

I read this on my own and wish I had read this with my book club. There is so much symbolism and metaphor and meat in this book as well as a gripping plot. While this was a relatively long and challenging novel, I flew though it. Neil Gaiman is fantastic as usual

I don't think the book was poorly written, but it just was not my kind of book.

Tricia - 4
Lisa -3
Lorraine - 3.25