American Gods
I view American Gods as a summer book. Most of it takes place
in the winter, but I always seem to read it in the middle of summer,
when the days are hot and endless. The first time I read it was shortly
after my 18th birthday, in those long, lazy days between high school and
college, swinging in the hammock my dad no longer owns. The last time
was shortly after I moved to Virginia, in the aimless days between
accepting a position at a new company and actually starting work. I'm
sure I read it, or at least parts of it, other times in the middle
there. This time, the days are long and hot, but they are filled with
work and other life stuff. The book still transports me to those endless
summer days that are mostly a thing of the past now.
I wonder, when they adapt the story for HBO, how the new gods will change. Will Netflix have usurped Television, or will she just be another aspect of the same god? Will Apple, Google, and Microsoft be brothers, constantly bickering and fighting, but all ultimately drawing their sacrifices from the same place? Will there be an internet hierarchy, with lesser gods coming into existing briefly and fading out again? Geocities giving way to Livejournal and MySpace, who ultimately lose their power to Facebook and Twitter. Or is it all just the same, all-powerful god, in the end? Will that little technical shit still be running things from the back of his limo, or will he be as outdated as Odin and Loki? And what of the older gods? How much longer can they hold on when people barely remember them?
There's something incredibly soothing about the chunk of the book that takes place in Lakeside. If I could live anywhere, I'd pick a town like Lakeside. Somewhere that I can just meander through my life in peace. A nice, slow, quiet life. Sounds like heaven to me. Except for the annual missing child.
A few years back, there was an ABC show called Happy Town that seemed like it was going to basically follow the Lakeside subplot. There was a happy little northern town on the shore of a lake that prospered when it seemingly shouldn't have. And there was a rash of unsolved disappearances and a cast of mysterious characters, including Sam Neill and Amy Acker. Alas, it wasn't that good and got canceled after 3 or 4 episodes. Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the HBO series to see this plot come to the screen.
I really, really love this book. It's almost hard to describe the headspace I go to when I'm reading it. It just inspires this perfect mix of relaxation and curiosity that's perfect for daydreaming. And then it fills that space with gods from all over. Every time I read it, I understand a bit more of the mythology. And I get inspired to go look something else up. And all the while I just want Shadow to find some peace, which I think he eventually does.
The extended edition included a brief scene between Shadow and Jesus. Neil Gaiman writes that it was supposed to happen in January when Shadow was living in Lakeside. The wording in the scene seems to place it during Shadow's vigil on the tree. Ultimately I'm not sure it matters. It was a nice little vignette, with Jesus complaining that in the course of being everything for everyone, he hasn't been able to hold on to an identity of his own.
You should read this book. It's slow. It sort of stretches out and takes its time. Most of the wanderings are around middle america: Illinois and Wisconsin. There are forays farther west to LA and San Francisco, and south to Virginia and Georgia. I think it's an interesting examination of America, of what she is and tries to be, and where she came from.
I wonder, when they adapt the story for HBO, how the new gods will change. Will Netflix have usurped Television, or will she just be another aspect of the same god? Will Apple, Google, and Microsoft be brothers, constantly bickering and fighting, but all ultimately drawing their sacrifices from the same place? Will there be an internet hierarchy, with lesser gods coming into existing briefly and fading out again? Geocities giving way to Livejournal and MySpace, who ultimately lose their power to Facebook and Twitter. Or is it all just the same, all-powerful god, in the end? Will that little technical shit still be running things from the back of his limo, or will he be as outdated as Odin and Loki? And what of the older gods? How much longer can they hold on when people barely remember them?
There's something incredibly soothing about the chunk of the book that takes place in Lakeside. If I could live anywhere, I'd pick a town like Lakeside. Somewhere that I can just meander through my life in peace. A nice, slow, quiet life. Sounds like heaven to me. Except for the annual missing child.
A few years back, there was an ABC show called Happy Town that seemed like it was going to basically follow the Lakeside subplot. There was a happy little northern town on the shore of a lake that prospered when it seemingly shouldn't have. And there was a rash of unsolved disappearances and a cast of mysterious characters, including Sam Neill and Amy Acker. Alas, it wasn't that good and got canceled after 3 or 4 episodes. Oh well, I'll just have to wait for the HBO series to see this plot come to the screen.
I really, really love this book. It's almost hard to describe the headspace I go to when I'm reading it. It just inspires this perfect mix of relaxation and curiosity that's perfect for daydreaming. And then it fills that space with gods from all over. Every time I read it, I understand a bit more of the mythology. And I get inspired to go look something else up. And all the while I just want Shadow to find some peace, which I think he eventually does.
The extended edition included a brief scene between Shadow and Jesus. Neil Gaiman writes that it was supposed to happen in January when Shadow was living in Lakeside. The wording in the scene seems to place it during Shadow's vigil on the tree. Ultimately I'm not sure it matters. It was a nice little vignette, with Jesus complaining that in the course of being everything for everyone, he hasn't been able to hold on to an identity of his own.
You should read this book. It's slow. It sort of stretches out and takes its time. Most of the wanderings are around middle america: Illinois and Wisconsin. There are forays farther west to LA and San Francisco, and south to Virginia and Georgia. I think it's an interesting examination of America, of what she is and tries to be, and where she came from.
Comments
Post a Comment