Awards
Synopses & Reviews
Fat 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.
Now brother Spider's on his doorstep — about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting...and a lot more dangerous.
Review:
"If readers found the
Sandman series creator's last novel,
American Gods, hard to classify, they will be equally nonplussed — and equally entertained — by this brilliant mingling of the mundane and the fantastic. 'Fat Charlie' Nancy leads a life of comfortable workaholism in London, with a stressful agenting job he doesn't much like, and a pleasant fiance, Rosie. When Charlie learns of the death of his estranged father in Florida, he attends the funeral and learns two facts that turn his well-ordered existence upside-down: that his father was a human form of Anansi, the African trickster god, and that he has a brother, Spider, who has inherited some of their father's godlike abilities. Spider comes to visit Charlie and gets him fired from his job, steals his fiance, and is instrumental in having him arrested for embezzlement and suspected of murder. When Charlie resorts to magic to get rid of Spider, who's selfish and unthinking rather than evil, things begin to go very badly for just about everyone. Other characters — including Charlie's malevolent boss, Grahame Coats ('an albino ferret in an expensive suit'), witches, police and some of the folk from
American Gods — are expertly woven into Gaiman's rich myth, which plays off the African folk tales in which Anansi stars. But it's Gaiman's focus on Charlie and Charlie's attempts to return to normalcy that make the story so winning — along with gleeful, hurtling prose.
Agent, Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House. 16-city author tour.
(On sale Sept. 20)"
Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"The result, though less dazzling than
American Gods, is even more moving. Intermittently lumpy and self-indulgent, but enormously entertaining throughout. And the Gaiman faithful...will devour it gratefully."
Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)Review:
"[A] romantic screwball comedy seasoned with murder, magic, and ghosts....[Gaiman is] the folksy, witty, foolishly wise narrator to perfection, drawing us into the web he weaves as skillfully as any...spider." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review:
"[A]pparently, there isn't much Neil Gaiman can't do. Anansi Boys is one of the finest screwball comedies to come along since To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis....[A] remarkable and entertaining book." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Review:
"A fun book with a little of everything — horror, mystery, magic, comedy, song, romance, ghosts, scary birds, ancient grudges, and trademark British wit....Another lovely story as only Gaiman can tell it; necessary and recommended." Library Journal
Review:
"Gaiman has steadily evolved into a comfortable, humorous storyteller whose lively modern fairy tales take protagonists — and readers — on rewarding journeys out of mundanity and into more colorful realities. Anansi Boys just does so with a bigger wink and a bigger grin than most." The Onion AV Club
Review:
"With Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman's delightful, funny and affecting new novel, the bestselling author has scored the literary equivalent of a hole in one, employing the kind of self-assured storytelling that makes it all look so easy." Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post
Review:
"Set in a dreamlike world of reality and circumstance, Anansi Boys belies Gaiman's admonitions. No, it is not big, and it may not even be serious, but it is laugh-out-loud funny and scary as a spider on your arm." USA Today
Review:
"The genre-busting novel is very creative and very funny, two Gaiman specialties. Its sweep is less epic than
American Gods, but it works well on its own terms. (Grade:
A-)"
Christian Science MonitorReview:
"Gaiman is witty and engaging, but his power is more as a storyteller than as a stylist, and I think what his fans find so appealing about his stories is that they are comforting, no matter how scary, like a good bedtime tale." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review:
"[A] giddy but somewhat unsatisfying ride. Whenever Gaiman runs into a narrative jam, he veers off in an exhilarating new direction, a diversionary tactic that starts to feel like a cheat. (Grade: B-)" Entertainment Weekly
Review:
"[Q]uite inventive, if not revolutionary....I found [it] immensely fun to read, very clever and sharp....[A]nyone who appreciates subtle British humor, postmodern fantasy, or just a good yarn about sibling rivalry won't regret picking it up." San Antonio Express-News
Review:
"With its quirky, inventive fantasy, this is a real treat for Gaiman's fans....Darkly funny and heartwarming to the end, this book is an addictive read not easily forgotten." School Library Journal
Synopsis:
Charlie's dad wasn't just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spirit of rebellion able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. When he dies on a karaoke stage, things get very interesting for Charlie.
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