American Gods (2001)

The path of the shadow

American Gods hit the market in 2001 by the writer Neil Gaiman. He is the author of books like Coraline, Stardust or comics like Sandman. He is not someone new to writing, however, it is his first long novel where he tells us the path that Shadow recovers through the routes of the United States with Wednesday, recruiting ancient gods for an imminent war that will be released.

We know the magical world of the gods through the eyes of Shadow. Gaiman makes use of the resource of the protagonist who is unaware of his own universe, in order to discover it and be surprised with it. And what the universes written by the Briton do not lack are surprises. Since everything that is uncovered in the plot is striking and novel, such as discovering what is the life of European deities in the new continent.

The war is between the old gods and the new, represented by most of the things we worship today: technology, globalization and the media. It is a reflection of our world that forgets the old and gives way to the new, and more so in a country like the United States. The ancient deities from different ancient cultures, which Gaiman knows with mastery, are adapted to the United States. His the same as they were in his land, but endowed with a strong influence of the country. Odin is a swindler, Anansi is a storytelling god and Jinn, from the Middle East, is a taxi driver. All adapted to the mundane life of the country of opportunities.

If it were a movie, it would be a road movie. The story went through the main routes of the United States and an Englishman like Gaiman narrates Sombra's journey through different places that the author remembers from his own experience. The interesting thing is that he doesn't feel like a foreigner managing to sound like an American, he feels as if he has lived there for many years and is an established citizen who knows perfectly what he is talking about. That the story is nomadic, speaks of the character himself who has an uncertain future and must seek his own path, even if he accompanies another person. Shadow is not an archetypal character, his personality at the beginning is a bit cold and bland, but as we read on, the character grows and develops perfectly.

The book gets a bit long, and sometimes it gets stuck in places for a long time, where nothing new is told. However, at the end of the reading these places will become very important and will be key to developing the character. Worth the time spent on all the reading.

Although the 558 pages of the book seem like a lot, the book has a fast escalating pace, in each chapter we discover new and old gods that further open up the universe of American Gods.

The account of the events will surprise the regular readers of the reader, who is now able to describe sexual and morbid situations with a quality that only he can achieve. Although the dreams of the protagonist also become important, a recognizable mark of the author.

The book with all the awards that failed, its arrival in the live action format was imminent, it did it for Amazon Prime, it has gone through a series that has garnered significant fame. And as usual, Neil Gaiman also turned his novel into a comic where he recreates the book panel by panel. A difference from the film version of him that he chose to change all elements of the plot.

Neil Gaiman highlights the distinctions won by this book, he won the Hugo, Nebula, Lokus and Bram Stoker awards for best novel. Since as usual, Gaiman takes elements of his life, transfers them to paper and endows it with a powerful magic that floods every corner of the pages.

Oneiric, powerful and direct.

It will not disappoint any reader who likes the style of the British author and will be a very good start for new readers to learn about his style and virtues, even if it is not the most recognizable reading of his. As extras that go back to the 10th anniversary version, it contains a prologue by the same author, an interview and more unpublished pages that were not in the final version. A deluxe edition to discover what Shadow's path will be.

This review used the, spanish version, 10th anniversary edition edited by RocaBolsillo.