Paperback, 384 pages
Published Sept. 30, 2019 by Roca Bolsillo.
God is dead. Meet the kids.
When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed — before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.
Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun ... just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.
Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able …
God is dead. Meet the kids.
When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed — before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.
Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun ... just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.
Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Some said he could cheat even Death himself.
Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times bestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny — a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as "a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him."
After reading the Vulture/New Yorker article I have chosen to remove my reviews of this man's content from my accounts. I choose to place this text here because I think it is important to juxtaposition these things. I also don't think that pretending I never read these things is particularly helpful either.
Anansi Boys was chosen as the second of three group reads for January by the Proud Readers Of Great Stories group on Goodreads to which I belong. I had already loved hearing the audiobook edition, superbly narrated by Lenny Henry, a few years ago so decided to borrow my OH's ebook edition this time around. I couldn't actually remember much of the story at all which I was glad about because I couldn't spoil any surprises for myself!
Gaiman's tale, at heart, is a coming of age story of sibling rivalry where our inept hero must overcome not only his brother's suave sophistication, but also his own crises of confidence. I could empathise with Fat Charlie on so many occasions! However, this being Gaiman, he also encounters no end of fantastical and supernatural beings which are vividly described so I could easily imagine them all. These beings are inspired by …
Anansi Boys was chosen as the second of three group reads for January by the Proud Readers Of Great Stories group on Goodreads to which I belong. I had already loved hearing the audiobook edition, superbly narrated by Lenny Henry, a few years ago so decided to borrow my OH's ebook edition this time around. I couldn't actually remember much of the story at all which I was glad about because I couldn't spoil any surprises for myself!
Gaiman's tale, at heart, is a coming of age story of sibling rivalry where our inept hero must overcome not only his brother's suave sophistication, but also his own crises of confidence. I could empathise with Fat Charlie on so many occasions! However, this being Gaiman, he also encounters no end of fantastical and supernatural beings which are vividly described so I could easily imagine them all. These beings are inspired by ancient folk tales, 'told before people were even sung into existence'. I recognised several as Brer Rabbit tales and others from Caribbean and African literature I have read and thought this gave Gaiman's imagined world extra power. He has obviously thoroughly researched the mythology and I love how ancient stories and beliefs are woven into Fat Charlie's search. I devoured the whole book in only a couple of sittings because I was so keen to remain within its magic and to know what happens next. A fabulous story!
Content warning some minor plot points
Anansi Boys starts with the father, who was a god (specifically Anansi, the spider), falling over and dying of a heart attack in a rather undignified way. At least, it's that way for his son Fat Charlie, who learns of his death and has to fly back to the states for the funeral. Afterward, he learns that he has a brother, Spider. The odd thing: he's told in all seriousness that if he wants to meet his brother, he needs to tell a spider to let him know.
And when Hurricane Spider comes in--oh boy. I didn't like the setup with Spider at first because he reminded me of all those ditzy idiot girls in 1930s or 1960s rom-coms that just barge in and create a hundred misunderstandings for the main character (and you just wanna yell shut up and explain the situation in 30 seconds or less... but that would make it a 5 minute movie). Spider is as mysterious as he is reckless, and Charlie ends up with all kinds of mishaps because of his brother suddenly being in his life... all within a few days. Spider causes issues with so many people in Charlie's life.
Once the hurricane that's Spider lost a bit of steam, and Charlie is fed up and goes back to the ladies from the funeral for help getting rid of him, the action really takes off. they're both in danger, and some secrets about their father and their childhood come to light (secrets I don't quite get and wish there was a bit more on, but the journey to rectify things is a great enough read I can just let it be).
You don't have to have read American Gods already (though this could be some kind of companion book to that, and maybe that's what it is--certainly part of the same rules, same universe) to get this book. Actually, this book's a lot easier to understand because we're not dealing with a thousand locations and characters.
Worth a shot. I think I'll tackle this one again.
Fat Charlie has a comfortable life in London and a lovely fiancée whose mother is hell on Earth. Fat Charlie cannot say his life is everything he has ever dreamt of, but when his father dies and he learns he is the son of a god and that he has a brother, the life he knows and Rosie are gone and Fat Charlie wants it back.
This book was a brilliant surprise. Whether you like or do not like American Gods, give this a try because there is nothing in common between the two except that there are gods in it. Fat Charlie, Spider, Rosie, Rosie's mother and Daisy are characters that we easily care about but I wasn't expecting the humour. This book is way funnier than it should be because it is beautifuly written, the characters and story evolve in a very satisfying way and it even has …
Fat Charlie has a comfortable life in London and a lovely fiancée whose mother is hell on Earth. Fat Charlie cannot say his life is everything he has ever dreamt of, but when his father dies and he learns he is the son of a god and that he has a brother, the life he knows and Rosie are gone and Fat Charlie wants it back.
This book was a brilliant surprise. Whether you like or do not like American Gods, give this a try because there is nothing in common between the two except that there are gods in it. Fat Charlie, Spider, Rosie, Rosie's mother and Daisy are characters that we easily care about but I wasn't expecting the humour. This book is way funnier than it should be because it is beautifuly written, the characters and story evolve in a very satisfying way and it even has a surprising twist in the end. I was not expecting such a novel from Gaiman, but I am immensely happy I read this. It is become one of my favourites from him.
Seriously disappointing. Boring, poor characters with a seemingly pointless plot. I could only tolerate 200 pages...
Labai smagi, šmaikšti ir mistiška knyga. Tikra atgaiva širdžiai, kuri pradeda dainuoti ;)
Some of the most fun I've had with a book in a long while. Strangers doubtlessly thought I was going mad from laughing to myself while reading.
Much lighter (both physically and mentally) than American Gods, this was a fun and relaxing read. I love Gaiman's playfulness with words, concepts and references throughout the book.
The only downside being the multiple times I laughed out loud and had to tell the kids that no, in order to explain the joke, I would have to retell much of the story so far.
A spin-off book from [b:American Gods|4407|American Gods (American Gods, #1)|Neil Gaiman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1258417001s/4407.jpg|1970226] featuring Anansi's offspring, Fat Charlie and Spider. I enjoyed this story much more than American Gods, I found that book to be bloated with plots, sub plots, flashbacks and many many characters. Anansi boys works well, nice plot with a few twists and turns, some brilliant characters and good amount of humour. Fat Charlie and Spider's evolution makes this fun to read. Makes me wish that American Gods was a series of books, one book per character and then have the main story of American Gods. Would probably make the book more fun for taking sides. :-)
Many people seem to know about Anansi the spider. For me he was completely new, so there were plenty of surprises in this book by Mr Gaiman.
A book that I enjoyed, be it not as much as Neverwhere which is still top of the top list.
A clever book however, with quirks and smiles and thoughts.
Definitely glad I read it.
Why have I never read this before? Ah, probably because I didn't really like American Gods on the first read (but loved it on the second).
Well, what can I say. I liked this book. It was funny. Not outrageously funny, not cleverly funny, just, you know, funny. There were even soms LOL moments. I mean... "mixed herbs"... Everyone who has read the book knows why I LOLed. And if you haven't read the book, you really should. Because it's fun.
I loved this book. There's a journey of discovery, magic, relationships, ancient tales, fear and love, all set in a contemporary world that, despite all, sounds credible. Highly recommended.
It's not as good if you happened to have read American Gods first. The story isn't exactly the same, and if you enjoy the concepts of mythology, then it's a nice companion.
It is fun and musical and a bit magical. Neil Gaiman has definitely got a talent for creating these worlds and filling them with light hearted characters and humor, all while saying some profound things beneath.
Thoroughly enjoyed it! And really hope to get some Anansi spirit in my life!
Much like "American Gods" that preceded it, this book had a decent story, but was kind of douchy and pretentious.
Oh, except this book's story wasn't particularly good. It was mostly just douchy and pretentious.
