I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read a handful of Neil Gaiman’s novels, which is a real shame because I love his books. I don’t think there’s a single one that I’ve read and not enjoyed. So far I’ve read The Graveyard Book, Stardust, The Ocean at the End of the Lane and then last year in November I finally got around to reading Anansi Boys.
This one tells the story of Fat Charlie whose father dies and
turns his whole world upside down. It turns out that his father was actually
Anansi, the spider god. Oh and he has a brother, named Spider, who he didn’t
know he had. Spider decides to come and stay, then slowly take over Fat
Charlie’s life, including his job, his girlfriend and his flat. It’s all a bit
much for Charlie, until he snaps and decides to play Spider at the same game in
order to get his life back.
I picked my copy of Anansi Boys in Oban when we went up
there for my birthday. It was dead cheap and as soon as I saw it I decided to
treat myself. Even though it has a picture of a spider on the spine and front
cover which made me cringe. I set it to one side to tackle at some point in the
future and then after reading, and loving, The Ocean at the End of the
Lane I decided I had to give it a go.
At first I wasn’t so sure what to think of it. It’s not one of my
favourite Neil Gaiman books, but I’m not sure many can hold a torch to
Ocean which at the moment is my all time favourites. However the more I
read it the more I got into it. Spiders and all. I have to admit that in the
beginning one of my main problems with the book was the massive spider on the
cover. I would have to leave it face down on my bedside table until I got used
to it and it stopped freaking me out.
I also love the whole magic realism thing and no one does it like
Neil Gaiman. It was great the way it all tied into the story. I liked the way
that once you got into the story you kind of forgot all the weird magical stuff
and just accepted it. I got to the point where it was perfectly believable that
Fat Charlie’s dad was the spider god, Anansi.
The story seemed to have a lot of independent threads including
Fat Charlie’s girlfriend, Spider, Fat Charlie’s boss and the woman Fat Charlie’s
boss was scamming. In the beginning they seemed to be very much separate with
just slight areas of overlap, but then they slowly came together making for a
pretty exciting conclusion. In that respect it kind of reminded me of Terry
Pratchett in a way – there were even footnotes!
My copy of this book had an interview with Neil Gaiman at the end
of the story. I love it when books do that since it’s kind of like the special
features you get on DVDs and blu-rays. The ‘special features’ in this book have
Gaiman talking about writing the story as well as telling an amusing story about
his experiences with spiders.
I’d definitely recommend it, though maybe not this edition if
you’re like me and spiders make you a bit twitchy.
Many people have told me how wonderful Neil Gaiman is, but I have to confess I've never read of any of his books. Which one of his would you recommend for someone who has never read anything by him before? Cheers - Ellen
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely recommend The Ocean at the End of the Lane or The Graveyard Book as good first time reads. The Graveyard Book was my first Neil Gaiman book and that sucked me into his way of writing; but The Ocean at the End of the Lane is one of his best and that's my favourite. ;-)
Delete