American Gods: Some notes

Finally read Neil Gaiman's American Gods, years after watching the first two seasons of the TV show. Before the TV series I didn't know such a book existed. It was the pace and intrigue of the first season that drew me to the book, and the snooziness of the second season that put me off it. But I did endd up reading the book in the end.

Coming to the book after watching the series, it was hard for me to imagine the characters other than the TV actors that played them. So, Shadow was Ricky Whittle for me, and Mr Wednesday was Ian McShane. Reading the book, however, I could see that the characters in the book were a different from what I saw on the TV, but it's hard to get rid of an image once it is settled in your brain.

American Gods can be a little daunting for someone not familiar with US or world mythology, what with the book having large doses of both. But with enough patience, the story pulls the reader in. The story of a mortal caught between warring gods, unaware of what is making them do so, becomes intriguing as one progresses. Shadow Mood, fresh from prison and mourning his wife, finds himself taking up a new job as a driver to a mysterious character named Wednesday. His job takes him on road trips across the American land, searching out gods that were brought to American shores by believers and then abandoned by them as they found newer gods. These gods live on, surviving on the fringes of American society, seeing their relevance diminish in favor of newer gods.

The book, with its myriad sub-plotlines and characters that are never explained, is a taxing read, but in the end. It takes a long time to set things up. The first and second acts are fast paced as they introduce newer characters, only for them to disappear and come later. The main characters of Shadow Moon, Wednesday and Laura are well fleshed out, but others are sketchy, asking the reader to imagine them as they please. In fact, the first two acts take up a major chunk of the book, leaving a very short third act to wrap things up. Neil Gaiman is a gifted story teller, and knows that the trick to telling a good story is to speak a lot, but tell as little as possible, thus building up stakes. A lazy reader or a someone fed on constant visual simulation may find their attention wavering; a habitual reader, however will appreciate the bits of info drops throughout the story, that fit together in the end.

Which is not to say that the story does not meander. The entire track of the Arab seller and the djinn may accentuate the loneliness of foreign spirits, but is a djinn reall a God?  Even the plotline about the thunderbirds goes nowhere, till a subtle hint of the consequences ends it.

American Gods was published in 2001, when Internet as we know it today was beginning to take shape. Reading habits were different then, and people had longer attention spans with lesser distractions. Reading it in 2024, I was aware of the change in habits that has occurred in the intervening 23 years. I could only imagine the characters like how I'd seen them on TV. I found myself re-reading passages because my attention had wavered. A certain impatience has crept within the readers to move things faster. All of this was made worse by the fact that I was an Indian, living in India, reading about an American man's journey across the USA in the service of forgotten gods looking for relevance. The credit for me finishing goes in large to Neil Gaiman's skill as a story tell and weaver of fantasies.