Myths Brought to Life in American Gods

photo: www.Amazon.com

My gut response to Neil Gaiman's American Gods is to call it a "Percy Jackson for adults."

In both, gods and "mythical" creatures exist as physical entities in America, and when the protagonists are pushed into this world, they find themselves having to be heroes, navigating war, power, and the trickery of the gods.

While the premises and plot lines are very similar, Gaiman's novel goes deeper than the YA Percy Jackson series in both surface content and ideology.

For one, the gods in Gaiman's novel are not confined to a single belief system. The major gods come from the Norse pantheon, but Hindu and Greek gods, voodoo priestesses, and creatures like leprechauns and piskies fill the (over 500) pages.

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The novel opens on a man named Shadow. His three year prison sentence will be over in a few days, and he's ready to go back into the world and spend time with his wife, Laura, and his friends. But when Laura's killed in a car crash, Shadow, now free in the world, doesn't know what to do. He's approached by a strange man named Wednesday, who offers him a position as a bodyguard. Shadow accepts, and soon learns that Wednesday is a god, an old god leading a vanguard against the "new gods" (Media, Technology, Cars, etc.) in a battle for existence and the minds of America.

Serving as Wednesday's protector, Shadow travels throughout America and meets a cast of various gods that were brought to America by human immigrants. After being chased, tortured, and nearly killed several times, Shadow learns that he has a large role in the war, and that even in the world of the gods, already an illusion, more tricks and surprises lie in wait.

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I really enjoyed the depiction of the gods in this novel. In (again) Percy Jackson, the gods are flawed and vain, but they do seem god-like. They're nearly all-powerful. They can shoot lightning from the sky and cause destruction with a snap of their fingers. They define America.

But in American Gods, America defines them. The gods are reliant on humans, and human belief to keep them alive. Otherwise they'd fade into oblivion. The idea of existence as belief is extremely interesting.

The difference between the new gods of Technology and the old gods also speaks to the culture of America and what we value and believe in. Shadow's magic coin tricks juxtapose magic with true faith as well, which leads to questions of how real gods, if they exist, show their power.

While I felt the major climax was wilted and too easily resolved, and my reading of the Percy Jackson series as a child left the overall premise for this novel not as fresh as it could have been, I still enjoyed the book. It was compelling, gave a different look on various belief systems and old myths, and tackled several complex themes.

7/10 📕