American Gods

Summary:

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.

Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, AMERICAN GODS takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what and who it finds there... (Summary and book cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

I’m not entirely sure what to say about this book.  I can’t pinpoint what it is about the book I don’t like nor am I sure if there is something I can point out and say that “I don’t like this”.  What I do know is that “American Gods” was a book I struggled to put down and thought about constantly while not reading.  It left me unsettled.

The book is creepy, but not necessarily in a bad way.  It’s the kind of creepy that grabs you by the shoulders and has you taking a second look at things for the rest of the day.  The mythological component was extremely well done; I loved the way the different cultures were weaved together.  My one complaint was that I felt there were some aspects left unresolved at the end of book.

Though I finished this book, and can’t quite say that I liked it, I will be rereading it again in the near future.

Warning: Contains violence

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it?  I can’t quite say, this book is one of a kind.  If anything: fans if Gaiman, mythology or psychological thrillers.