Book Review: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Jun. 20th, 2007 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: Anansi Boys
Author: Neil Gaiman
Published: New York: Harper Torch 2005
Page Count: 387
Total Page Count: 33,474
Text Number: 97
Read For: my own enjoyment
Short review: Fat Charlie thought he had escaped to a life of complete, boring normalcy in England, working an average job, engaged to a normal girl, but when his father drops dead, he is forced to return home to Florida to attend his father's funeral—and his life takes a swift turn towards the bizarre. He never knew his father was the god Anansi. He never knew he had a brother named Spider. After his first meeting with his brother, Charlie begins a journey that will drive him away from, and then bring him closer too, his brother, his father, and his own past and nature as one of Anansi's boys. This novel takes place on a smaller scale than some of Gaiman's other work, dealing primarily with Fat Charlie, his family, and his friends. However, it still takes place in a supernatural world that exists, largely hidden, beneath the world that Charlie and the reader are familiar with: a world of gods and magic, specifically the stories of Anansi the Spider and other animal gods from Africa. The book is humorous and engaging, but lacks the depth and lasting import that some of the other Gaiman novels have. I recommend it, but would recommend Neverwhere and American Gods more highly.
The limited scale of this novel immediately separates it from Gaiman's other work. While books like Neverwhere take place in the whole of London Above and London Below, and books like American Gods determine the fate of both old and new generations of the gods in America, Anansi Boys focuses on individuals at a very local level: Fat Charlie, his brother Spider; Charlie's fiancée and her mother; Charlie's boss. Their various plotlines take them from London to America to Jamaica as well as into and out of the world of the gods, but they never extend beyond the individuals to a more cosmic scale. Whether the personal scope is a good or a bad aspect depends largely on the reader. Personally, I like the cosmic importance layered into Gaiman's other novels, and found the limited scope of this one to be disappointing. Other readers may disagree.
I also found this novel to be a little more humorous and a little less grave than Gaiman's other work. While there's no doubt that all of Gaiman's novels contain ongoing irony and aspects of humor, those aspects seemed to be more prevalent and blatant in this novel. There are still some dark and dangerous otherworldly aspects, but the amount of humor draws attention away from them and makes the story seem more light-hearted. Whether or not that is a good thing also depends on the reader, and again I personally found it disappointing—it reminded me too much of Good Omens, a book that I didn't really care for. But then, my sense of humor is pretty narrow and very dry.
Both in terms of theme and plot, this is a skillful novel: Anansi the Spider is the god of stories and songs, and the interwoven plot reflects that. The stories of the individual characters weave together and thread apart in a rhythm that keeps the plot moving and the reader interested without rushing the text or the conclusion. Some of the morals of the book also arise from the storytelling theme—the rest come from Charlie's increasing knowledge about his brother, father, and with them, himself. All in all, Anansi Boys is an enjoyable read but not my favorite Gaiman novel—but I suspect that it falls flat for personal reasons, and may appeal more to readers with different tastes. I do recommend it, but I enjoyed Neverwhere and American Gods much more, and would urge the reader to pick up those first.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Neil Gaiman
Published: New York: Harper Torch 2005
Page Count: 387
Total Page Count: 33,474
Text Number: 97
Read For: my own enjoyment
Short review: Fat Charlie thought he had escaped to a life of complete, boring normalcy in England, working an average job, engaged to a normal girl, but when his father drops dead, he is forced to return home to Florida to attend his father's funeral—and his life takes a swift turn towards the bizarre. He never knew his father was the god Anansi. He never knew he had a brother named Spider. After his first meeting with his brother, Charlie begins a journey that will drive him away from, and then bring him closer too, his brother, his father, and his own past and nature as one of Anansi's boys. This novel takes place on a smaller scale than some of Gaiman's other work, dealing primarily with Fat Charlie, his family, and his friends. However, it still takes place in a supernatural world that exists, largely hidden, beneath the world that Charlie and the reader are familiar with: a world of gods and magic, specifically the stories of Anansi the Spider and other animal gods from Africa. The book is humorous and engaging, but lacks the depth and lasting import that some of the other Gaiman novels have. I recommend it, but would recommend Neverwhere and American Gods more highly.
The limited scale of this novel immediately separates it from Gaiman's other work. While books like Neverwhere take place in the whole of London Above and London Below, and books like American Gods determine the fate of both old and new generations of the gods in America, Anansi Boys focuses on individuals at a very local level: Fat Charlie, his brother Spider; Charlie's fiancée and her mother; Charlie's boss. Their various plotlines take them from London to America to Jamaica as well as into and out of the world of the gods, but they never extend beyond the individuals to a more cosmic scale. Whether the personal scope is a good or a bad aspect depends largely on the reader. Personally, I like the cosmic importance layered into Gaiman's other novels, and found the limited scope of this one to be disappointing. Other readers may disagree.
I also found this novel to be a little more humorous and a little less grave than Gaiman's other work. While there's no doubt that all of Gaiman's novels contain ongoing irony and aspects of humor, those aspects seemed to be more prevalent and blatant in this novel. There are still some dark and dangerous otherworldly aspects, but the amount of humor draws attention away from them and makes the story seem more light-hearted. Whether or not that is a good thing also depends on the reader, and again I personally found it disappointing—it reminded me too much of Good Omens, a book that I didn't really care for. But then, my sense of humor is pretty narrow and very dry.
Both in terms of theme and plot, this is a skillful novel: Anansi the Spider is the god of stories and songs, and the interwoven plot reflects that. The stories of the individual characters weave together and thread apart in a rhythm that keeps the plot moving and the reader interested without rushing the text or the conclusion. Some of the morals of the book also arise from the storytelling theme—the rest come from Charlie's increasing knowledge about his brother, father, and with them, himself. All in all, Anansi Boys is an enjoyable read but not my favorite Gaiman novel—but I suspect that it falls flat for personal reasons, and may appeal more to readers with different tastes. I do recommend it, but I enjoyed Neverwhere and American Gods much more, and would urge the reader to pick up those first.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
