American Gods

Article written by Ebuka Igbokwe

Bachelor's degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

In Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’ old deities of ages ago clash with new gods born of modern obsessions. The protagonist Shadow Moon is drawn into this conflict, a surreal and epic drama that occurs in a recognizable America. Gaiman’s narrative weaves together myth and reality expertly. He explores themes of belief, cultural identity, and the nature of worship in this novel. A fine blend of fantasy, mystery, and social commentary, ‘American Gods’ challenges the boundaries between the divine and the commonplace, and offers a reflection on the power of belief as social infrastructure.

Key Facts about American Gods

• Title: ‘American Gods’
• Published: 2001
• Literary Period: Post-Modernism
• Genre: Fantasy
• Point of View: Third-Person
• Setting: United States of America, in the 2000s
• Climax: The final battle between the Old Gods and the New Gods

Neil Gaiman and American Gods

‘American Gods’ by Neil Gaiman is a romantic mix of Americana, mythology, and fantasy. The novel reimagines what it means to believe in gods and the effect the gods have on their worshippers and, conversely, the effect the worshippers would have on the gods themselves. This literary exploration digs into what makes us tick as creatures capable of imagination and susceptible to the traps of imagination.

Neil Gaiman was born in 1960 in the UK but emigrated to and settled in the United States in 1992. A prolific and versatile writer, Gaiman has written several collections of short stories, novels, children’s fiction, screenplays, and comic books. An early fascination with fantasy and other genres of speculative fiction, as well as comic books, is reflected in his works. He has mentioned Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and science fiction writer Robert Zelazny as literary influences.

In writing ‘American Gods’ Neil Gaiman shows his romantic attraction to his adopted country and his lifelong occupation with speculative fiction in a very ambitious epic tale. Interspersed by historical and anthropological musings, this novel is a thrilling tale, told by a sympathetic and masterful storyteller, of a clash between old gods brought to a new land by people who were long dead and forgotten, and new gods brought forth by modern ideas and inventions that dominated contemporary society’s consciousness.

Books Related to American Gods

If you enjoyed ‘American Gods,’ you may also like these novels by Neil Gaiman.

• ‘Anansi Boys’—Related to the father-son relationship between Shadow and Wednesday in ‘American Gods’, this novel follows the life of Charles Nancy, nicknamed Fat Charlie, who finds out that at his estranged father’s death, his father was the trickster god Anansi. With this revelation comes the sudden appearance of Fat Charlie’s charming and flamboyant brother, Spider, who had inherited his father’s god-like powers. Spider’s appearance and involvement in Charles’ life throws his sedate life into a chaotic spin.
• ‘The Graveyard Book’—The novel follows Nobody “Bod” Owens, a young boy who miraculously escapes the reach of the killer, the man Jack, at whose hands the rest of his family dies. The toddler sneaks into a graveyard where a community of ghosts, a vampire, and a werewolf raises him. In the background of the coming-of-age story, Neil Gaiman crafts a grand war involving cosmic forces of good and evil, with Bod as a lynchpin.

Other works by other authors exploring similar plots or themes include:

• ‘Good Omens’— Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman collaborate to write this humorous novel that imagines an impending apocalypse with wit and irreverence. The story features an unlikely duo: the fussy angel Aziraphale and the laid-back demon Crowley, who have grown rather fond of Earth’s comforts, sent on a divine mission to stop Armageddon. A series of comedic misadventures follow from the duo misplacing a baby Antichrist.
• ‘Alif the Unseen’— This novel by G. Willow Wilson is a genre-blending tale that seamlessly weaves together elements of fantasy, political intrigue, and mythology. In an unnamed Middle Eastern city on the brink of revolution, a young hacktivist, Alif finds that his loved one is arranged to marry a prince. He tries to thwart this but is pursued by the forces of the prince, and he finds himself entangled in a world of jinns and quantum computing.
• ‘The Lightning Thief’— The first entry in Rick Riordan’s ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ series, the novel introduces readers to the extraordinary world of Percy Jackson, a twelve-year-old boy who discovers that he is no ordinary teenager but a demigod, the son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Percy navigates a perilous journey to prevent a catastrophic war among the gods in this Riordan fantasy, weaving together Greek mythology, humor, and adventure elements.

The Lasting Impact of American Gods