Anansi Boys
Sep. 26th, 2005 03:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sharplittleteethI've taken a week off work, mostly to catch up on my reading.
So far, it's going swimmingly. Just finished Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman.
After his father dies in a Karaoke bar, Fat Charlie Nancy learns two things about his family: his father was actually Anansi the trickster spider god, and Charlie has a brother named Spider who inherited all the godlike powers. When Charlie finally meets his brother, Spider takes over his flat, his life and makes off with his fiancee. To get his old life back, Fat Charlie has to deal with Jamaican grandmothers, his slimy boss and ancient animal gods from the edge of the world.
It's funny. Well, it starts out funny, gets quite dark, then ends up in a mawkish sort of happy ending. I know it's a comedy, where happy endings are required. But Gaiman does have this irritating habit - he leads you into the dark places, but he always leads you out again to where everything is happy and cheerful and nice. Sometimes you just wish he'd let the darkness stick.
Still, I liked it a lot. It's a light, entertaining read. The audio book is read by Lenny Henry, which would be a treat. Some of the earlier chapters - where Gaiman struggles hard to be funny without sounding like either Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams - really need to be read aloud to get the humour.
Right. I should go write up my Gaiman interview for Fiend.
So far, it's going swimmingly. Just finished Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman.
After his father dies in a Karaoke bar, Fat Charlie Nancy learns two things about his family: his father was actually Anansi the trickster spider god, and Charlie has a brother named Spider who inherited all the godlike powers. When Charlie finally meets his brother, Spider takes over his flat, his life and makes off with his fiancee. To get his old life back, Fat Charlie has to deal with Jamaican grandmothers, his slimy boss and ancient animal gods from the edge of the world.
It's funny. Well, it starts out funny, gets quite dark, then ends up in a mawkish sort of happy ending. I know it's a comedy, where happy endings are required. But Gaiman does have this irritating habit - he leads you into the dark places, but he always leads you out again to where everything is happy and cheerful and nice. Sometimes you just wish he'd let the darkness stick.
Still, I liked it a lot. It's a light, entertaining read. The audio book is read by Lenny Henry, which would be a treat. Some of the earlier chapters - where Gaiman struggles hard to be funny without sounding like either Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams - really need to be read aloud to get the humour.
Right. I should go write up my Gaiman interview for Fiend.
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Date: 2005-09-26 06:18 am (UTC)He would be a better writer if he could just let himself dwell in the darkness.
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Date: 2005-09-26 06:54 am (UTC)Although after reading his books, I was expecting him to be a great big fluffy puppy in person. And he turned out to have a bit more steel to him than that. He even got a bit shirty at
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Date: 2005-09-26 07:22 am (UTC)He can be like that.
When I was trying to get stuff signed and snap a photo at the end of the con, he was being ushered-out by an over-enthusiastic minder.
"Help! I'm being manhandled," he protested and put on a pleading face. :)
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Date: 2005-09-26 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-26 07:35 am (UTC)Now it's my turn :-/
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Date: 2005-09-26 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-26 11:46 pm (UTC)