Anansi Boys- Neil Gaiman- A Review by Ronald Hadrian

Reading this novel made me want to be a God. They surely seem to be enjoying themselves. Anansi Boys is about two brothers. Their father is the great Anansi who actually owns all the tales of the world, apparently. One brother named ‘Fat Charlie’ is the normal, boring guy who is happy with his steady life, and on the other hand, we have his brother Spider who is the envy of many. Fat Charlie doesn’t possess the powers of his father, nor did he know that he had a brother. The rest of the story is about finding their true destinies.

Neil is a wonderful storyteller. I have read his novels written for children, but this is the first novel that is written for adults. Like Anansi, (Spider God) Neil is weaving stories to enlighten and teach people. It is not merely a tale, but a journey. A journey that all stories take.

I loved the writing. It was witty, not too ghastly with a bit of a romance. The characters were drawn out nicely, and at the core of it all, one can see a story about a family. The story develops gracefully in the beginning, and each character is introduced with a perfect pace. Only when Spider enters the picture the novel really takes on. The journey of Spider and Fat Charlie seemed to be intertwined throughout the novel. Like a big jigsaw puzzle, everything comes to a perfect ending.

The character development is wonderful. They are so alive especially Spider who has the attitude of the spider throughout the novel. He doesn’t take things for granted, and even when he falls in love he doesn’t have a reason, nor does he promise to stay with the girl forever. He is a trickster god, but also a good God who keeps his word when he really means it.

But by far the best book I have read is The Ocean at the End of the Lane and Norse Mythology. This will take a back seat when I compare this book with others.

Anansi Boys also reminds me of God’s having problems like humans. They also don’t get all that they want. Even though they are immortals, they desire to be humans most of the time. This can be seen in almost all the myths. In short, Anansi boys is about stories, and how stories make up the world that we live in. I will give 3.5 out of 5.