Anansi Boys by: Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is one of those writers
where if you know his work, you will understand what I’m talking about, and if
you don’t, you should pick up any of his books right away and find out. He writes in a way totally unlike anything
else I’ve ever encountered - endlessly hilarious, flowing, with a
train-of-thought, almost psychedelic style, yet in a way, which seems simple
and modest. His strange prose and
subject matter feels completely normal when you’re absorbed in it, and if you
do notice it at all it only enhances your enjoyment.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of this
book is the way he effortlessly blended a slightly hopeless, resigned, ordinary
main character, living in our ordinary world, with a series of increasingly
insane mythologies and legends. I love
when writers use existing mythology and bend it to their own story, as I feel
like it includes the reader in the journey - like they have a jump start on
knowing the characters - and Gaiman has done an incredible job of that here. It’s impossible to pin down what the novel is
really about - family, in a sense, in that most of the trouble is caused by the
protagonist’s brother and father, both of whom are magical beings who seem to
live off their own charm and wit. But it
doesn’t really seem to matter that I left the book almost as confused as I
began it. I was in hysterics for most of
the novel, at the situations, descriptions and dialogue in equal measure. Every sentence seemed to be laced with
hundreds of layers of meaning in a way that completely delighted me.
All in all, I would say this book
is a must read for anyone who likes a mixture of extreme, on-the-nose events,
and subtle nuances of humor. Like me,
I’m sure you’ll be hanging on with tight fingers until the very last page.
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