American Gods - Neil Gaiman

I don't even know where to start on this. That this book could have existed for ten years without my having read it, having known about it, seems impossible now. Hyperbole? Maybe, but it's hard for me to really put into words what I thought of this without resorting to statements of grandeur. It's a novel of a vast concept so it requires vast descriptions.

The premise of the novel is fairly straightforward, America is a melting pot, and when immigrants arrive here, they bring their gods with them. Gods from all over. And while those religions or those beliefs die out, the gods remain, diminished in power, but here all the same, wandering our country, or taking jobs to make ends meet, until finally they are extinguished, forgotten. 

So a man named Shadow, a convict, is released from prison and on his way home to his wife,when he learns she has died. Grieving and bereft of an alternative plan, Shadow meets a man named Wednesday who offers him a job. Shadow then travels with Wednesday, meeting gods and learning about the dark world the gods inhabit. 

A war is brewing, between the old gods and the new. Gods of media and the internet, versus traditional gods of ancient and lost kingdoms. Wednesday is trying to rally his troops as they prepare for battle. Shadow is his cohort, his companion on the journey. But Shadow isn't an ordinary man, in his dreams he straddles the world of the gods and sees into the "shadows" created by their existence. He sees things that others miss. 

I was immensely fond of Shadow. He's such an interesting character. He's a roll with the punches guy. He's often underestimated, but he's very intelligent. People are drawn to him, intrigued by him. He makes mistakes. He admits them. He's just as confused about the world of the gods as the reader.

The audible version I read is the 10th anniversary edition. With an introduction by Neil Gaiman, whose silky voice narrates the "Coming to America" interludes found in the story and the epilogue. The 10th Anniversary is a "author's cut" of the story, longer than the original that was published more than a decade ago. I'm so happy this book was mentioned in passing by a co-worker. I'm so pleased to have read it this year.

5/5 Stars.