American G-ds by Neil Gaiman (no spoilers)

I literally finished this book then opened my computer to write about it, so it's all very fresh. This was a book that I have been interested in reading for three or four years now, but never committed to finding myself a copy. I had also been discouraged by some of my friends who had read it because they thought some of the content would intimidate me. Well, I liked it, and now I'm going to tell you why.

I thought the plot was very interesting. The idea of G-ds based on what people believe in rather than a set faith was really interesting and relevant in an increasingly secular society. Gaiman counterpoints mythical G-ds like Loki and Odin with a modern crew, one of whom is called Media.

I liked Shadow. He was a likeable character as a result of his flaws. The book begins with him in prison, so you already know he isn't perfect, and you don't really know what to expect from him. He does exceed expectations in most cases.

I liked the mythical imagery that Gaiman used. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll leave it at that.

Now for the critique:

I didn't really know where the book was going until I was about two hundred pages into it (my copy was 588 total). That's a lot of effort and commitment to something that you might not even enjoy. I also didn't like that the chapters were each about thirty pages long, so it was hard to find a stopping point when I didn't have time for the entire thing. There also weren't many characters that I liked in the sense that I want to make fanart about them or the things that they say. I guess I'd say I liked the book, but there are other books that I've liked better. I think The Graveyard Book was more my style in the canon of Neil Gaiman.

That's about it. Do I recommend it? Yes. Am I going to re-read it? Probably not, at least not for a number of years. Will I keep my copy or sell/donate it? Keep. Mostly because it has a pricetag from China, but I also respect the work enough that I don't want to give it up.

Today is awesome because I finished my book!