We celebrate you, Neil Gaiman!
Winner of the Newbery and Carnegie Medals and author of the groundbreaking Sandman series as well as the novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline and The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman stands out in the novelist world for his gift for writing graphic novels and for his use of classical English humor at its very best.
The following showcases his quirkiness at its prime: "Books have sexes; or to be more precise, books have genders. They do in my head, anyway. Or at least, the ones that I write do. And these are genders that have something, but not everything, to do with the gender of the main character of the story."
A heavy mixture of Americana, fantasy and classical mythology, American Gods tells a story of an ex-convict plunged into a maelstrom of conspiracy and magic. The novel puts forth that gods and mythical creatures exist due to the fact that people believe in them. It logically follows that the traditional deities are being replaced by America's new idols: technology, media and drugs. But the Old Ones won't go down without a fight ...
American Gods is a great book to explore for its deft use of mythology and for its complex plot. Read it to discover what happens to the protagonist's wife, Laura. You won't be dissapointed.