2006 Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee

God is dead. But just wait till you meet the kids...

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 to 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; he is able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, baffle the devil, and cheat Death himself.

Exciting, scary, and deeply funny, Anansi Boys is a kaleidoscope journey deep into myth, a wild adventure, and a fierce and unstoppable farce, as Neil Gaiman shows us where gods come from, and how to survive your family.

"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.)

Charlie Nancy is an easily embarrassed London accountant in this sort-of sequel to Gaiman's American Gods, winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards. Attending his father's funeral, Charlie discovers two disconcerting facts: 1) His dad was actually Anansi, an African trickster god; and 2) Charlie has a brother, Spider, who's inherited some of his dad's powers. When Spider comes to visit, he proceeds to seduce Charlie's fiancée and get Charlie fired from his (admittedly horrible) job. Then things start getting out of control. 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 Monitor

"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)

"[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)

"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

"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

"[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

"[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

"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

"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 Monitor

"[F]unny and subversive, a comedy of ill-mannered gods and bad-hearted mortals....Gaiman's mastery of language carries the reader through to a satisfying conclusion." USA Today

"[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

"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

One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modern age — complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. Not to mention a lime.

Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times bestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny — a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment that "Neil Gaiman is a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him in any medium."

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.

One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaiman now gives us a mythology for a modern age — complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. Not to mention a lime. Anansi Boys God is dead. Meet the kids.

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.

Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Times bestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaiman offers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny — a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him.

One of fiction's most audaciously original talents, Neil Gaimannow gives us a mythology for a modern age — complete with dark prophecy, family dysfunction, mystical deceptions, and killer birds. Not to mention a lime.

Anansi Boys
God is dead. Meet the kids.

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.

Returning to the territory he so brilliantly explored in his masterful New York Timesbestseller, American Gods, the incomparable Neil Gaimanoffers up a work of dazzling ingenuity, a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that is at once startling, terrifying, exhilarating, and fiercely funny — a true wonder of a novel that confirms Stephen King's glowing assessment of the author as "a treasure-house of story, and we are lucky to have him."

Neil Gaiman is the critically acclaimed author of the novels American Gods, Neverwhere, and Stardust, and the Sandman series of graphic novels, as well as Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of short fiction, and Coraline, a novel for readers of all ages. Originally from England, Gaiman now lives in America.