Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is a book I first read at the recommendation of a friend in 2007. I revisited it because the TV adaptation started airing in 2017.

Let’s just say they are two very different things, although since I think of them that way, I have no preference for one over the other.

I enjoyed revisiting the book. One of the arguments against Gaiman that I’ve seen is basically that he tells different variations of the same story over and over – basically a (white) guy becomes the hero in a secret world not visible to most of the rest of the population.

This story doesn’t bother me, and I tend to like the way Gaiman tells it.

Shadow Moon was THISCLOSE to getting out of prison and home to his wife when he’s released three days early. His wife and best friend die in a car accident. Later, Shadow finds out his wife was cheating on him with his best friend. I won’t retell the whole story here but basically this revelation sets Shadow adrift and pushes him into the employment of Mr. Wednesday as his “bodyguard.”

Ultimately, Shadow finds himself caught up in battle between the Old Gods – the gods we studied as part of our high school history and English classes – and the New Gods – the gods of money, media, and globalization.

I feel like I somehow missed a lot of the book when I read it in college, so it was sort of like discovering a new book all over again. I had completely forgotten large portions, and some of the portions were new, because the audiobook was the 10th anniversary edition with the author’s preferred text which included an additional 12,000 words and was performed by a full cast. It was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering it.

Criticism of Gaiman as a guy who tells different versions of the same story over and over is somewhat valid, but I find his insight into America uniquely interesting in this book. As someone who is now 10-12 years older than I was when I read it the first time, and has paid a lot more attention to the country I grew up in over those years, Gaiman’s take on the United States as a “bad place for Gods” is both the opposite of what people would think and also incredibly true.

Power belongs to the people/things men give it to. While you would think the United States of Jesusland was an excellent place for what we think of as the Christian God – it still is in many places – it’s bad in the sense that things constantly change here, with power constantly moving from one thing to the next as society and its opinions evolve. The “new gods” of money, media, globalization are hugely powerful now, but eventually their power will fade too. Maybe not entirely and maybe not in our lifetime, but they will, eventually, fade away as well. In a way, it’s already starting, between claims of “fake news” and a growing backlash against money in politics, and the instinct of many ordinary Americans to fight against sending jobs overseas.

As the United States continues to look for itself and continues to try to find itself, things will continue to change. As Gaiman points out, the United States is the only place in the world that doesn’t have a set definition of what it is, or necessarily even cares much.

“This is the only country in the world,” said Wednesday, into the stillness, “that worries about what it is.”

“What?”

“The rest of them know what they are. No one ever needs to go searching for the heart of Norway. Or looks for the soul of Mozambique. They know what they are.”

It’s an incredibly relevant take lately, particularly as we approach a presidential election in 2020.

American Gods remains firmly in its position of my second favorite Gaiman book. I’ve read quite a few. It was nice to revisit, and I’m sure I will revisit it again.

Tagged: authors: neil gaiman, books: american gods, genre: fantasy, genre: supernatural