Literary Criticism of American Gods

  The novel, American Gods, written by Gaiman and published in 2001, has met with some good criticism, claiming that the novel inspired faith in one's self in a modern society where people are overwhelmed with self doubt, and yet surrounded by a world of opportunity. In the article "Sustaining the Imaginative Life: Mythology and Fantasy in Neil Gaiman's American Gods", written by Mathilda Slabbert and Leonie Viljoen who are from the department of English at the Universities of Stellenbosch and South Africa respectively, the novel American Gods is discussed and the main thesis is that mythology is the foundation for artistic expression in poetry and literature, which lies in a world where people's connection to faith and belief is a gap that's vast and ever-growing. They use the protagonist Shadow as an example of mythology being the foundation of Neil Gaiman's novel, because he is like man becoming a shaman throughout the plot. They support this by showing from the book that Odin initiates him in the old shamanic traditions by him flying in an airplane through lightning strikes, and him drinking mead in a bar with odin, being able to perform magic by making it snow, him being isolated in a small town, and being a piece maker between the old gods and the new gods. The novel also inspires the notion of belief, as Odin tells Shadow that he must believe in order to survive. It is through Neil Gaiman's intertwining of belief, mythology, and fantasy that he presents a novel that inspires in us a belief that we can get passed the plight of self doubt, while living in a society with the means of accomplishing anything.

Writing Atmosphere and Literary Milieu

   As a child, Neil Gaiman was exposed to different religious views, as his mother was jewish and his father a public relations official for the Church of Scientology. Not only did his father's position cause Neil Gaiman to be blocked from a boys' school in England, but it may have also affected his writing. Scientology beliefs incorporate the idea that humans are immortal spirits who are currently trapped in a physical body, while in their past lives, before their spirits arrived on earth, they were part of an alien culture. They also believe that extraterrestrial beings are responsible for shaping events in human history. While Gaiman does not subscribe to this philosophy, it is possible that his father's beliefs influenced his writing, as his stories are often about how supernatural beings try to become average people, or how average people become gods or other higher beings. Also, as Neil Gaiman read J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, who were popular at the time he was growing up, may have influenced the creation of many of his fantastic and strange worlds, while when he was older, his readings of authors such as Alan Moore and H.P. Lovecraft may have contributed to his dark, and complex plots and characters. While Tolkien had Middle-Earth, and Alan Moore had his iconic character "V", Gaiman has his London Below from Neverwhere, and his dark character Dream from The Sandman. As a modern author, he writes about the ever advancing technology in our society. In American Gods, a war is brewing between the old gods, like the Norse gods, and the new gods, which are personifications of technology. Basically Gaiman is using these characters to point out that we may depend on technology too much, that we've become too dependent, that technology is almost like a faith too us.

      The modern trends are making fantasy and horror novels more popular. With the appearance of all the shows about ghost hunting, like Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, etc. and the presence of two major cabe channels dedicated to horror, which are Syfy and Chiller, there has been a great resurgence in the horror genre of literature. Also, with movies being made from J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Hobbit, and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, there also been a great resurgence in the Fantasy genre of literature as well. This is evident since a couple of Neil Gaiman's books have been made into films, Stardust and Coraline. Although it does seem that there a lot of new authors are writing supernatural romance stories these days, like Twilight, or The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series. It seems that that genre, along with Horror and Fantasy are currently enjoying quite a bit of spotlight. 

Some Great Neil Gaiman quotes

   "Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly."

                  Gaiman, The Sandman Volume six: Fables and Reflections

  "What I say is, a town isn't a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it's got a bookstore it knows it's not fooling a soul."

                  Gaiman, American Gods

     "Stories may well be lies. But they are good lies that say true things, and which sometimes can pay the rent."

                   Neil Gaiman

   "Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot."

                  Gaiman, The Sandman Volume three: Dream Country

Dream, from the graphic novel The Sandman