Reviewing 'American Gods'

 Just a disclaimer: my reviews are just my impressions of the book, maybe not the super deep dive that happens on Goodreads! 

* which also Amazon owns, ugh.

What I liked about it:

The plot! It had a slow build-up because I kept waiting for 'the storm' right away. Gradually though, I got on with the pace of what was happening. This is not the book to turn the pages of until you reach the scene of action and where every thing else that happens along the way is an accessory. It's the kind where you enjoy the scenery as you go along. Silly me got the whole importance of it being a road-trip book with the places mentioned actually existing a lot later. It made sense!

This speed (or the lack of it) serves it the best when it comes to the Lakeside section. It's so peaceful and cold and friendly! That place has a touch of the Gilmore Girls community feels and The Good Witch natural beauty (suddenly I can't remember the scenery of other soaps anymore?). That peace eventually gets shattered but that's another story. Even the shattering part was great though - to realize retrospectively that it wasn't sweet solace. It was the unnatural ease and calm in a horror movie.

The climax makes so much sense when it's revealed. I had to say this because I started enjoying the journey and then got caught off guard when things actually tied together. Hehe.

Obviously, it also got me interested in mythology about which I know nothing. Like, come on, he spoke about Thor and Odin and Loki before they became mainstream 'cool' or at least mainstream Marvel heroes. I'm definitely going to read Mythology with way more interest now because of all the fun angles to it.

What stood out:

The protagonist Shadow's character stood out for me a lot. He sometimes felt like he was the reader himself - he was just that passive, he had surrendered complete control of his life. He doesn't ask, he doesn't react. He agrees and moves on. Perhaps he knows better than others about how things don't turn out how you thought they would. I also read somewhere else that he's been portrayed like this purposely to show the utter shock those twin disasters had on him. That made sense to me because only when he is with his zombie wife that he seems to even want something.

Loved the magical surrealism as well, obviously. When you talk about magic and surrealism so casually, it seems even more real. In fact the realness is because of the casualness and not despite of it. A few lines in the book and even his interview bits at the end.. it's all very cutely magical (sorry, a better phrase doesn't come to mind at the moment). Like tiny drops of serotonin and chuckles. It's like a secret that you'll now have with the rest of the world. Just you.. and the rest of the world.

Look forward to me reading more of Gaiman! :)