Här följer en analys på engelska av Neil Gaimans fantasy bok
"American Gods"
The novel that I have chosen to analyze is written by a British author named Neil Gaiman. The novel is called “American gods”, and is sort of a fantasy novel involving both gods and ordinary people. The main character is a former convict called Shadow, who got an early release from prison, where he was serving time for attempted murder and battery. One day he was called to the warden’s office, where he was given the news of his wife’s, and his best friend’s tragically death. The warden cuts him loose a couple of days previous to his release do to the tragic news. Shadow, shaken by his loss, leaves the prison without any real goal. Finally he decides to head home and arrange with the funeral. On the way home, he is approached by a mysterious man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he offers Shadow a job as a bodyguard. Shadow hesitates at first, but finally he accepts. What he doesn’t know until later is the fact that the man that has hired him is no one else than the all father from the northern mythology, namely Odin. And Odin needs Shadows help, because there is a storm coming. The new gods, which has risen out of mankind’s worship of television, pop stars, internet and more, are challenging the old and week ones. The thing is, that every god, demigod and demon who have ever been worshiped on American soil, are still alive and kicking in America. Their powers have decreased because they no longer get any sacrifice, and they live like hustlers, whores, beggars and taxi drivers. But now they are being challenged by their stronger heirs, and therefore they have no other choice than to defend themselves, and Odin is the one who tries to unite them. So all of a sudden Shadow finds himself in the middle of a war between the gods, where nothing is what it appears to be.
Shadow is a person who is big and strong, but not so sharp. All he ever wanted was to get out of prison and reunite with his wife. The author writes about Shadow in third person, but yet you can follow his thoughts about what is going on. And as a reader you don’t feel any smarter than Shadow, rather the contrary, because even though you know exactly the same things, and has received the same amount of information, you are still way behind. It is almost as if the author wants his readers to feel a bit stupid, and that is a very courageous way to write. It makes me think of an other author, who used the opposite method to attract his readers. Namely Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who in his books about Sherlock Holmes always gave the reader clues that he could figure out, and therefore the reader always lay one step ahead of the wooden headed Dr. Watson. Of course that made the writers believe that they were very intelligent, and that is probably a smart move to make if you want to sell a lot of books. But in this case you only get more eager to finish the book, because you don’t have a clue to what the ending will be until your there.
Then we have Mr. Wednesday, Odin. And as the god he is, he is described in mysterious ways. You don’t get to read what is going on inside his head, and he stays a mystery throughout the book. Other characters that appears frequently are Shadows wife Laura and the Leader of the technological gods, Mr. World. Laura is already dead when the story begins, but that doesn’t stop her from having an important role in the plot. Because of a magical gold coin that Shadow throws on her coffin at her funeral, she no longer is bound to the grave. And through her the reader learns what things that are important for a corpse, that is not entirely dead. As for Mr. World there is not much that is described. It is only throughout his actions that you can make some guesses to his personality. There are a large number of different characters that appears in the book, both gods and ordinary people. Some only pop up on one or on a few pages, and others have more important appearances. But none of them are really important for the story.
Approximately half of the book takes place in present time, and the environment is American countryside and cities. They travel through the whole of North America, so there are many cities and places that are described. Some of them obviously made up by the author, and others that you recognize. The author also puts down a lot of effort in describing places, weather conditions and sceneries so that the story comes alive. The other part of the book takes place in historical time, when immigrants, explorers and slaves came to America, and with them they brought their beliefs and their gods. There is also a part that takes place in an other dimension, in the land of shadows. It is obvious that the author has put down a great deal of work in studying different religions and people. There are a number of chapters which are dedicated to describe the lives of those who came to America. Indians, Vikings, Africans and Egyptians among others.
Not all of the old gods get along with each other. There is a great discord among them, and they don’t really seem to trust anyone but themselves. So it is up to Odin and Shadow, who after a while realizes that he is Odin’s son, to bring them together. At first their task seems almost hopeless, but in the end they manage to unit the old farts. Unfortunately Odin has to pay for their union with his life, or so it seems. It is not until the last chapter that you learn the true reason behind Odin’s actions.
I think that this is a very good book. I have always been interested in reading fantasy, fiction and saga, but it is very difficult these days to find books worth reading in this genre. What the author has done in this book is that he has taken influences from religions that come from all over the world, and twisted them together in a breathtaking novel. Most of the stories that he has used are already good on their own, and put together they only become better. I like the authors stile, and how he describes even small things in a thoroughly way. The story would even have worked without the presence of any gods. Just a battle between the new modern industrial society on one side and the peasants, hunters and the old way of life on the other. In fact it is a rather timeless story, of a kind that will always attract peoples interest. And the way the author keeps the readers unconsecrated until the very last page is a sign of good authorship. There are many passages in the book that you have read more than one time in order to understand it correctly, because the author uses sentences that can mean more than one thing, and that makes the book feel very much alive.
This is a book that I recommend for each and everyone who has a free mind, and needs a mean in order to escape from reality for a while.
