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American Gods by Neil Gaiman


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I've got the "Author's preferred text" version of this, which is about an extra 12,000 words from all accounts (635 pages paperback). It actually has reading group questions in the back of the book too. If anyone wants to see them, I'll be pleased to post 'em.

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'Chelle, have you read Small Gods by Terry Pratchett? I'm thinking that parts of AG, so far, are a little similar in idea - the whole small god/forgotten god thing...

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'Chelle, have you read Small Gods by Terry Pratchett? I'm thinking that parts of AG, so far, are a little similar in idea - the whole small god/forgotten god thing...

 

Nope, I haven't.

 

I only got a little bit read last night. I wasn't so sure when I read the back of the book, but the little bit I did read seems promising. I'm not sure what version I have, but it's certainly a thick book!

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It'll say on the front cover if it's the same one as mine - it'll say "author's preferred text" on it. If not, then it's the original version which was trimmed down a bit.

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Reading Group Discussion Questions (from the back of the book):

 

1. American Gods is an epic novel dealing with many big themes, including sacrifice, loyalty, betrayal, love & faith. Which theme affected you most strongly, & why?

 

2. Shadow begins the novel as a convict, & ends it a different man. How does the novel exploit the idea of America as a place where immigrants & exiles, both physical & emotional, can reinvent themselves? What makes Shadow himself so compelling & complex?

 

3. American Gods is partly a road trip through small-town America, where Shadow can see the sarker side of life that other people ignore. What does the novel say about what other people will accept in order to maintain a sense of normality?

 

4. The old gods expect sacrifice, violence & worship. How have they adapted to the modern world? What does this say about the nature of divinity? How & why have Americans transferred their devotion to the new technological & material gods from the old spiritual gods? What comment is being made about modern cultural values?

 

5. What is the significance of the illusions, cons & magic tricks that occur throughout the novel? American Gods is a novel where magic, myth & the divine coexist with the normal, mundane & human in a way that is utterly believable. How is this illusion maintained?

 

6. How does the rick* (sic) background description increase the power of the narrative? What do the secondary characters, particularly the gods whose lives & deaths are given a brief insight into, add to the novel?

 

* I think this might be a typo - I think it's supposed to be "trick", but I'm not sure.

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Im' still enjoying this, despite the fact that there's a particularly strange scene involving a Goddess with some weird sexual preferences (you'll see what I mean when you read it, if you haven't already). It's the only scene that's seemed slightly out of place so far, but even so, I can see the point of the scene in a way. In the end, it's all down to methods of worship as seen from the point of view of the Gods themselves. I'm finding the grifting sideo f things very interesting (I love movies like The Grifters, so this sort of stuff is right up my street) & it's fun trying to figure out which Gods are what when you first meet them.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I've read this book.

 

For me: it was mostly just a good idea.

The fun part for me was that the god's magical loci were the tourist hot-spots in America.

I felt that the narrative was devoid of emotional content so I could only enjoy just how clever the author was, which left me wishing for just a little bit more from the book. I don't regret reading it, it was entertaining - but I really don't feel the need to read more by this guy.

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