(Spoilers) Thoughts on Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys
Well, due to a fire at my apartment, I lost all my books, so I have had to revamp by list of reading material. First on the docket is Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, which is the second book of his I've read (first was American Gods).
The novel definitely has a different feel to it. The tendency is more towards comedy -- which makes sense, being that Anansi is a trickster god.
The plot in this book was secondary to the incredible dialogue, and wonderful characters.
Fat Charlie: I loved this character from start to finish. He is the definition of someone not in control of their own life, until the end of the novel. I loved the bit with the lime -- it was foreshadowing for the end, where he obtains his god-powers in full. (The reason I say this is because the lime is like one of Anansi's stories.)
Spider: Definitely an acquired taste, but my opinion of him turned around dramatically once I learned that he is "half" of Charlie. When Spider was explaining it to Charlie, he seemed very vulnerable and ashamed.
Grahame Coats: Probably just me, but I felt that this guy was somewhat harmless for the entire book. He was a great villain, though. He reminded me somewhat of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. I had a feeling he'd end up being Tiger, but I was only partially right -- it's fitting he ends up being a weasel-creature stuck in Tiger's cave.
Rosie and Rosie's Mom: I paired the two together because they are inseparable. All of Rosie's decisions in this novel were based on her relationship with her mother. Her mom was terrific. I loved the passage where the "internal celebration" was going on once Rosie broke the news that she wasn't marrying Fat Charlie.
Bird-woman: How funny was the running gag with the birds? I loved it. I actually thought Spider and Charlie would get attacked by canaries in the abandoned mine.
Anansi: Isn't every kid embarrassed by their father at least once in their childhood? I really liked Charlie coming to terms, and learning to appreciate his father through song. The fedora hat was touching.
The four witches (Higgler, etc): Pretty cool touch. I like how they were squabbling over the ingredients for the teleporation spell (the first time they did it).
All in all, a fantastic book. I would definitely classify this as "light reading" compared to American Gods. If you've read this and haven't read American Gods, I highly recommend doing so. It's much less of a comedy, but makes up for it by being a strong drama.
Five out of five limes...
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Posted Mar 13, 2009-
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Posted Mar 12, 2009Mauve's character was pretty good too...she was the stereotypical "widow of a celebrity" in that she wasn't very world-wise. I thought the ending of her storyline was very sweet.
Also -- the penguin candles! Loved it!