Title: Anansi Boys

Author: Neil Gaiman

Publisher: William Morrow 2005

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Neil Gaiman; Mount TBR; Blogger Recommendations; Fall into Reading; Bingo -- 4 from everyone but me; Fantasy Project

How I Got It: iPad read

When Fat Charlie's dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie "Fat Charlie." Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can't shake that name, one of the many embarrassing "gifts" his father bestowed -- before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie's life.

Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie's doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who's going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun ... just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.

Because, you see, Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Some said he could cheat even Death himself.

Overall, I really liked this novel, but it wasn't quite on par with Neverwhere or The Ocean at the End of the Lane.  I think it had to do with the fact that I could never truly get behind Fat Charlie.  Sure, he's gotten a bit of the short end of the stick in terms of his childhood and family, but the fact that he continues to be a sad sack throughout the novel bugged me a bit.  While I don't like Spider's actions, I could completely understand why he did certain things.  He was predictable, he was interesting, he was almost charming.  I found myself wanting to read more about Spider's journey than Charlie's.  For that reason, I took this one down a star.  Don't get me wrong, it's still a great Gaiman story.  It has the interesting little fantastical twists.  It has wonderfully constructed sentences.  The narrator (even not being first person) connects to the reader.  I really enjoyed this one, just not quite as much as some of Gaiman's other works.