Sunday, March 11, 2012

"A comedy of ill-mannered gods and bad-hearted mortals..."

Tell us the title:
Anansi Boys
 
Who penned this work?:
Neil Gaiman

How did this piece find it's way to your nightstand?:
Anything with Neil Gaiman's name on it will eventually find its way onto my reading list.  Pretty sure I've read all the adult-aimed novels now.  I was holding on to this one, saving it for a lull in my passion for reading, for I knew it would spark me back up!

Number of pages:
400, if I get to count the excerpt from another book at the end, which I have already read but of course read again. 

Time passed from start to finish?:
Since I had to go to work during the week....about a week.  AKA about a day and a half.

Describe the cover:
Three men's shadows appear against a red-orange sky, with spider web cast about the background.  One man appears to have a lovely umbrella.

In what section of the bookstore would a reader find this?:
For reasons I may never actually understand, science fiction.  I guess since there's not a section called "best stuff ever".

Summary of the basic plot:
From the back: "Far Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage.  Charlie didn't know his dad was a god.  And he never knew he had a brother..."

Background information on the story/author:
Neil Gaiman is the best writer ever.  Done.

What did you think of it? (your general response, what you liked or didn't like, what you learned, anything else you want to share about it):
I loved it, just like I love every story by Neil Gaiman.  If you're hoping to fall in love with his stories, I'm not sure I would start with this one, but if you're already convinced of his awesomeness, read on, my friend.  As always, a tale is weaved (woven?) when you're not even looking, and those pesky little life lessons pop out at the end in ridiculously non-obvious-yet-completely-apparent ways.

Which page was your favorite? Share why:
Apparently I didn't mark such a page, so I can't give a number...although that would be a bit of a spoiler for anyone who wanted to read ahead anyway.  My favorite page was when Fat Charlie finally realized the truth about his brother.  And that statement is exactly as cryptic as I wanted it to be.

Share a quote that was worth reading twice. Explain why:

 For once not a funny one:
"Each person who ever was or is or will be has a song.  It isn't a song that anybody else wrote.  It has its own melody, it has its own words.  Very few people get to sing their own song.  Most of us fear that we cannot do it justice with our voices, or that our words are too foolish or too honest, or too odd.  So people live their songs instead."


Choose your rating:

- Changed. My. Life.
- I laughed, I cried, I want you to read it 
- A definite page-turner
 - Good to check out but don't spend the cash.
 - Why did I waste my weekend on this?
 - A disgrace to paper everywhere

Flip to page 2, 22, or 202. Share the 7th sentence on the page:
"Only..."