Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman


            This has been my favorite book so far.  Gaiman has the narrative voice I was left wanting from the previous reading.  I love the little things he adds to his descriptions.  I remember laughing out loud when he says that Fat Charlie’s son has the sincerity that only small children and gorilla’s have been able to master.  Those little things may not really do much to move the plot along, but as the reader, it enhances the experience for me.  It must take more consideration to add things like that or make sure an analogy works with the thing it describes.  This was much more the witty narration I was looking for and I fell head over heels for it.
            I am a sucker for Fat Charlie.  I relate to him very much.  Part of me wants to be Anansi, the life of the party, the karaoke king.  However, the other 99.9% of me is more inhibited and would pass out right next to Fat Charlie on stage.  Maybe I was split apart as a child.  Maybe there is another half of me somewhere.  What if I am the cooler of the two halves, the Spider side?  That poor bastard other half must be absotively pitiful. 
            The whole thought that everything is created through song is interesting to me.  I think it is a good way to say that we are all beats in a larger rhythm.  Simply the cowbell in a  much more intricate Milky Way Philharmonic Orchestra.  The moments when Fat Charlie has his epiphany and is able to sing to all the mythical beasts is pure beauty.  I do not remember exactly how his song went; I was too overwhelmed with the thought of that moment.  It is a perfect culmination of a dramatic climax, a character finding peace in his own skin, and multiple resolutions.  I could not believe how strongly this scene in the book hit me.  I am kind of at a loss for words about that.  Because of that, I feel like I should thank you for requiring this reading.  I always feel appreciative when somebody makes me laugh a really satisfying, gut busting laugh, and this book left me feeling in a way that I should be similarly appreciative.  I want to check out more of Gaiman’s writing when I have more time over winter break.

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