I really enjoyed this book. I found it because I’ve been reading a lot of magical realism lately, and it was my follow up to “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” I was not too impressed with “Oscar,” and so I am trying not to compare the two while writing this review…
First, Gaiman obviously did a of lot research about trickster tales, especially those pertaining to Anansi. His knowledge and research around island culture, including language, obeah, food, etc., also really shown through. Being someone more familiar with Jamaica, I could not help but think he drew more from Jamaican folklore and culture than he did any of the other islands. Admittedly, I am not as familiar with other island cultures, so perhaps there are similarities and duplications of which I am unaware.
I doubt Anansi Boys will ever end up in the literary canon, but it deserves to be. Why? Simply because Gaiman does a fantastic job of taking an ancient storytelling form (and character), which really is the very foundation of literature, particularly in the Americas, and interweaving this form into modern storytelling methods. In his own right, Gaiman himself does a fantastic job, often through the different forms of trickery the many characters play on one another, of continuously building suspense and rapidly moving the storyline forward. As a reader, you do not really get a break with Anansi Boys. I read it almost entirely in one day! I am grateful, though. It is rare now days, I believe, to find a book that is packed so full of intense humor, wit, and suspense.
If I were to make any recommendations, it would be to try to brush up on your knowledge about Anansi and other trickster tales before reading this. Not that it’s essential, but it does make Gaiman’s story are the more enjoyable.
Right now I’m reading Russell Brand’s ‘My Little Booky Wook,’ but when I’m finished I’m going to ferret out a copy of this. Your review has me very curious. I’ve been writing and submitting some Sci Fi and Supernatural short stories lately and immersing myself in an old genre love of mine as kid and teen. Naturally, my involvement in Native culture also adds to my interest here.
I’d like to email you later this weekend Tel about a novel I’ve been perfecting. I’m on the hunt for an agent and I wanted to get your view on the subject matter. I need some brutally honest eyes and thoughts and I know I can find that here.
Yes! Read it and tell me what you think. I have to warn you, though. As a Southerner, I was familiar with Anansi tells, which are more tied to slave folklore/stories than Native American stories. In the south, we call Anansi Br’r Rabbit, which the author alludes to in his book. This was one big contributor to my understanding. The second, however, was that my partner is Jamaican. He grew up with Anansi stories and shared them with me when we first met (he loves them!). The third thing is me just connecting the two in the continuum of the unofficial literary “cannon” of our wonderful Americas, which encompasses the trickster tales (and Anansi and Br’r Rabbit were tricksters!) of the Native American tribes, be it the coyote of the Crow, Raven of the Northwestern (your southwestern, I assume
) peoples, or even the shape-shifter of the Plains. Cultural differences being what they are, I’m not sure how well the Anansi tales will resonate with others. As for me, I loved them!
I’m also honored you’d consider me for critiquing your work. I’m not sure if you have my email address or not. If not, you can send it to telmcg@hotmail.com. Let me know when you send it so I can check my junk email, just in case it inadvertently goes there (Hotmail is notorious for that, in my opinion!).
Tel honey, I’m going to send you a tiny fragment of my MS in a few minutes, so be on the lookout for it.