Loved the journey ...

You know," he said. "I think I would rather be a man than a god. We don't need anyone to believe in us. We just keep going anyhow. It's what we do.”

I guess when Shadow Moon said that, he used all the right words to voice the very last thought I had as I finished Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

So what is American Gods about?
Well the main plot is something like this:
Shadow Moon is released from prison two days early in order to attend his wife's funeral. Since his best friend Robbie died in the same accident as his wife, this means he is also out of a job. Defeated, broke with no where to go, he meets the mysterious Mr. Wednesday who offers him a job, which he declines at first. But after “losing” a coin toss Shadow finally accepts. Mr. Wednesday employs him mainly to serve as his bodyguard and they embark on a road trip to rally old God’s to partake in a war against the new Gods. Shadow is introduced to the deadly world of the supernatural and gets caught up in a brewing war between old and new gods.

Just from reading the synopsis, you might already be able to tell that this book is not for everybody. You end up either really loving it, or in a massive reading slump. That is if you don't dnf (do-not-finish) it altogether. I finished it within a week and although I enjoyed every minute of it, this is not a book I would recommend to everybody.

So what are you getting yourself into?
Depending on what version you are reading, at 600+ pages this book is a “chunker" and the narrative unfolds at a very slow pace. There is a lot of detail and dialogue that does not immediately make sense. Also more often than not it isn't the most exhilarating conversation to read. However, everything falls into place when the plot lines are neatly wrapped up towards the end. Apart from Shadow Moon’s story, the book contains “coming to America segments” that are written by mr. Ibis (a.k.a Toth the God of Wisdom). The segments seem to stray away from the plot cause they just tell the reader how some of the Gods or deity's ended up in America and over time they were completely forgotten. Eventually it turns out most of these segments provided me with a deeper understanding of what the brewing war between the Gods was about.

The book is from Shadow Moon's point of view. Since Shadow Moon doesn't believe in much and doesn't feel he has a lot to live for (anymore) his POV might be depressing and at times maybe even frustrating. Personally I thought it was a stroke of genius. Shadow is introduced to a lot of Gods and he pretty much accepts whatever is presented to him. For the biggest part of the book he has no questions, nor opinions whats however and therefore I, as a reader, can form my own opinions on the Gods, deity's and events.

The problem and the beauty of this book is that it has a bit of everything. Beautiful writing, remarkable world building, a lot of mythology and at times it’s even creepy. Needless to say there is a lot to explore. Because I finished the book within a week and Neil Gaiman's storytelling is engaging to me, it wasn't hard to keep up. For me the most surprising thing is that Shadow Moon's journey and personal growth did not go unnoticed amidst all these other storylines that demanded my attention.

I really liked American Gods. Especially how thought-provoking it was. American Gods is not just a fantastical tale, it also examines what it means to be an American by looking at the cultural legacy of America through its mythical origins and how traditional values have evolved into contemporary ideals (americangodsneilgaiman.weebly.com). In other words this is not simply a fantasy book with a straightforward story. The narrative is very layered and full of symbolism and references to mythology.

Let’s just say that by the end of this book you will definitely appreciate Wikipedia. You might have to work a little for your pay off, but for me it was worth it.