Neil Gaiman

A Novel

Anansi Boys

   Fat Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

   Now brother Spider's on his doorstep -- about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting... and a lot more dangerous.

American Gods #2

Why does everyone hate Charlie give this boy a break, man. But the writing is impeccable, indulgent, and a fast read. I just hate every character except Charlie and Daisy probably. Also, laughed a few times.  

Sarah Sammis

I didn't like the first 35 pages or so. Gaimen takes too long to get the story set up. Things start to get interesting once Charlie learns about Spider. The little parables at the end of some chapters are worth skipping as well as they break the flow of the story.

Macy Johnson

Firstly, Neil Gaiman's sense of humor?????? Unparalleled.

I am so glad that my advisor has such great taste in books and lends them to me without hesitation.

I literally have never read anything like this, and it was so utterly enjoyable in every way that I definitely need a copy for myself right now.

Fat Charlie was so relatable. So dorky and awkward and perpetually disastrous... we love to see it. So bashful. So sweet at times, so dumb at times.... iconic. And SPIDER?

SPIDER????

Obviously, I have no words for Spider. An absolute delight.

And I just can't, because all of these relationships were so interesting and wholesome and real in a world that is so magical... honestly, I absolutely loved all of them. I mean, Daisy?? How amazing can you get?? And like, the antagonist Grahame Coates (it's been two months, and all of these characters' names still come to me in a snap, so you know I actually cared) is just so villainy and yet puny and dumb and intricate and ultimately fallible in the most interesting way. You love to root against him.

Again, we know I love a book with music as a central plot point. (We love a writer who can write a singer with the idea being ultimately *omg he can SING* without it being *wow I'm good at music and I got big pipes I am SUCH A SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE*) 

The way that Neil Gaiman built his world so intricately in order to manipulate it so magnificently???
That is where I'll stop. A must-read.

No, I lied, I have to end with two words: T H E L I M E.

Prashanth Srivatsa

A trickster god dies leaving his two sons to squabble with each other, and in that process, identify. At once immersive, magical and memorable, Gaiman takes you through problems and conflicts of his characters with a potpourri of gravitas, humour and smartness that only he can conjure with such ease. And despite the lack of profundity that he's known for amid the scribbled sorcery, you get a lukewarm feel at the end, an all's well that ends well moment.

Frederik De Bosschere

Pointing out the obvious here, but Neil Gaiman is just an amazing storyteller. He has an incredible talent for establishing believable characters in a realm that is neither real nor fantastastic. He then sends this cast on a simple, but engaging plotline that keeps its pace really well. Neil Gaiman makes you want to write.

Janice Hopper

I have only listened to this book in audio. But that's fine, since the narration by Lenny Henry is my touchstone for excellence in audiobook narration. :) His work really brings the story to life. 

I adore stories about Story. This is one, and it's well done.

Kirsten Simkiss

I devoured this book. I absolutely tore through it and I enjoyed every bit of it. Coming after the first book, which I felt dragged a bit because of the rather placid main character, the characters in this book were wonderful and funny and curious. The magic of the world introduced in the first book was not lost at all, and I didn't feel that you needed to read the first book at all to enjoy this one. It added to it, of course, and did more explaining, but I felt that you could read and enjoy this book very easily without having read American Gods.

I read just a little under three hundred pages today just because I could. I loved it. I loved how the story's structure was similar to an Anansi story, I loved how the characters played off each other, I loved how everything came together in the end like a puzzle you didn't quite know you were trying to solve, and I loved how everything worked out for the best for everyone. (Except of course the antagonist, but he got what was coming to him.) Charlie went through a great deal of growth through the book which I really felt was missing in American Gods.

I just hope no one ever decides to starfish me like they did to Charlie.

Jayme Bosio

I think Neil Gaiman does an excellent job of developing his characters; throughout the book I went from hating Spider to rooting for him. This story has been told numerous times before - uptight character gets life destroyed for the better by care-free, irresponsible relative/friend/co-worker. Still, Gaiman weaves an entertaining tale that is only enhanced by the many voices of Lenny Henry. It's a must listen.

Eva Bailey

This was absurd and magical and fantastical, and classic Gaiman. I adored this story, one of my favourite of his novels.

Kaya

Cams Campbell

I first became aware of Neil Gaiman a couple of years back when he was a panelist on Cranky Geeks. His novels and he are mentioned a lot on a few of the podcasts that I listen to and I decided to give Anansi Boys a try. I got the audiobook from audible and this one is narrated by Lenny Henry. I enjoyed it immensely and will definitely be consuming some more of Neil Gaiman's novels before long.

This one is about the descendent of Anansi, the Spider God. His descendent, Fat Charlie, does not know that he's descended from a God to begin with. He's just a regular schmo working for a firm in London and dating his fiancée. After he hears about his father's death, he attends the funeral and that's when strange things start to happen.

Lenny Henry was the perfect choice as narrator for this novel. A lot of the characters are Carribean in style and he does the accents perfectly.

Recommended. 

The novel is funny, clever and engaging. Four stars.

Naomi J.

Loved it! Devoured it in three days (which is quite hard to do with an audiobook!) Wonderful sequel to 'American Gods' (although you don't need to have read the first to enjoy this one). I love Gaiman's writing, characterisation and wit. Great fantasy without any of the fantasy cliches.

Fraser Simons

I liked this book overall but I found that it took a really long time for the stakes to become interesting and for the 60% of it to become pertinent to the somewhat opaque plot. The later 40% was fantastic but it did feel laborious getting there, even with the fantastic narration on the audiobook.

Yulande Lindsay

I really enjoyed this book. I must admit I had doubts about how a white non-Caribbean/ African writer would handle the Anansi mythology which is so central to the Jamaican storytelling tradition. He got it right. Don't know who he consulted but he got the feel of the Spider god right - the joy, the mischief, the stories. The resentment of Tiger...I loved all of it. Highly recommended.

Cindy Lieberman

A lovely layered and symbolic novel about family told with humor and pathos in a reimagining of the Anansi (spider) stories from West Africa.

A Novel (P.S.)

Well, it was...alright.

The main issue I had was just that nothing really grabbed hold of my attention long enough to count. The random Anansi stories scattered through were interesting enough, but the characters were bland and uninteresting. Even Spider, whom I was sure to like, just became bland and uninteresting after the first few pages of interaction. The only mysterious part about him were his powers, which were never really explained other than the offhanded mentions of "well, he got the magic side of having Anansi as a father." Charlie was neither likeable nor dislikeable-- he was sort of there in a really passive way.

The only character who was remotely likeable or interesting was Daisy, and we saw so little of her!

Other than that, the writing was still neat, so it did earn its three stars. I guess I just really liked American Gods a lot more.

Sarah Escorsa

What a great read! I just loved the mix of fantasy and comedy, which reminded me a lot of books by Tom Holt and Connie Willis. This is now officially my favourite Gaiman novel, along with Neverwhere:)

Shafel McDowall

I love Neil Gaiman, he's one of my favourite authors. It's fascinating that a white man would choose to write about an African God, but I appreciate the effort all the same. 

This was a nice mellow book to listen to as I cleaned and did my daily commute. It's not too exciting, but that's what I loved about it. The stakes were never too high but the jokes were funny.

Jimena Vázquez Oliver

This was recommended to me by a co-worker and I really enjoyed it! Definitely something I’d read to my kids in the future.

Nat Welch

Fun read! Silly and short, but quite funny and interesting.

Charlie Nancy leads a normal, boring existence in London. However, when he calls the U.S. to invite his estranged father to his wedding, he learns that the man just died. After jetting off to Florida for the funeral, Charlie not only discovers a brother he didn't know he had, but also learns that his father was the West African trickster god, Anansi. Charlie's brother, who possesses his own magical powers, later visits him at home and spins Charlie's life out of control, getting him fired, sleeping with his fiancée, and even getting him arrested for a white-collar crime. Charlie fights back with assistance from other gods, and that's when the real trouble begins. They lead the brothers into adventures that are at times scary or downright hysterical. At first Charlie is overwhelmed by this new world, but he is Anansi's son and shows just as much flair for trickery as his brother.

Isa s

I really enjoyed myself reading this book. The style reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams', but I found myself not as exasperated as I'm usually when reading too much of Adams.

Anansi Boys tells the story of "Fat Charlie", estranged with his father since his childhood, returns to his father's funeral. From an old neighbor he finds out that his father was a god and that he has a brother. Although Fat Charlie doesn't actually believe what the neighbor told him, he still makes contact with his brother on a whim. That's when his life begins to be turned upside down. His brother, who introduces himself as "Spider", actually comes to visit Charlie and causes mayhem. When he refuses to leave again, Charlie searches for other help to make his brother leave, which brings the catastrophe down on both of them.

Both Charlie and Spider are great characters. They start out being the exact opposite of each other, but during the course of the story they change and grow closer. They discover their bond as brothers and become more alike in character as well. It's fun watching this transformation, slowly. Actually you don't really see the transformation, you just notice how different they are at the end of the novel as opposed to the beginning. This subtle change is done wonderfully.

There's also a lot of silly, humorous scenes, which somehow don't sound artificial but utterly natural. And also, I liked the ending very much.

This is the first book by Neil Gaiman I read, but it will certainly not be the last.

Eugenia Andino

I really enjoyed this book, but then I'm biased because I love everything by Neil Gaiman. It has a very absurd sense of humor and a twisted plot. I don't see as the children's / young adult book it has been marketed as.

This was great! Everything from the imagery to the general plot is engrossing and makes the pages keep turning. It's funny, relatable, and descriptive in a way that you could be watching it on television. The animal gods were one of the best parts.

Comptable londonien sans envergure et sans histoires, Gros Charlie Nancy ne se distingue de la majorité de ses concitoyens que par une timidité maladive et une peur du ridicule qui confine à la paranoïa. Ah ! et accessoirement, il est le fils du dieu Anansi. Le problème, c'est que c'est son frangin, Mygale, qui a hérité des pouvoirs paternels. A l'aise en toute circonstance, doté d'un charme irrésistible, d'un bagout insolent, d'un mépris éhonté pour toute considération morale... tout l'inverse de Gros Charlie, qui a dû se contenter, lui, du sens des responsabilités et d'un goût pathologique pour le conformisme. Aussi, le jour où Mygale débarque dans sa vie pathétique, bien décidé à y mettre un peu de piment, ses ennuis ne font que commencer...

Anansi boys

Diana

This was my first Neil Gaiman and I loved it.

Anansi Boys A Novel

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