Ex Libris: The Storyteller Returns

Eeek.

That's the sound one makes when one realizes they've been reading a book straight starting at 10 p.m. and ending at 2:45 a.m. That's also the same sound one makes while reading the aforementioned book during certain parts of the story: for example, when Fat Charlie encounters a creepy wall of birds while walking around the prison yard.

Of course, I'm talking about Neil Gaiman's latest offering, Anansi Boys.

As I've told anansi girl, I wasn't really intending to get the slightly-pricey hardbound copy of this book, preferring to wait for the trade paperback or mass-market paperback. However, when I found out that it was selling cheaper without the limited edition reproduced letter from Gaiman, I relented. And a good thing, too.

I'm sure everyone has a clue of what Anansi Boys is all about. Luckless talent agent Fat Charlie--a moniker given by his dad that stuck despite the fact that he's not fat anymore-- finds out his dad is dead and he has a long-lost brother. And, oh yes, he's the son of Anansi, the god of spiders, the trickster god. Things start to spiral into chaos from there.

I've seen reviews both good and mixed (no bad ones yet) and though I admit it's not great literature, Anansi Boys is definitely a great read. It's fast and funny at the right times, yet slow and musing at others. Likewise, I found myself with a lot of sympathy with Fat Charlie. Like him, I hate embarrassing situations such that I found myself letting my eyes slide past sections of the page that related Fat Charlie pinioned in the jaws of embarrassment (but I didn't, of course). Gaiman is that good a story-teller in that he subtly grabs your attention with the opening line of his story and reels you in quietly without you even noticing it.

Moreover, I think Gaiman himself is improving in his novel-writing here. Whereas American Gods somewhat stuttered a bit due to the vignettes (interesting though they may be), the flow of Anansi Boys was smoother. Of course this may be because Gaiman's use of a more intrusive narrative voice but it worked.

All in all, as I finished the book last night, I thought that if China Mieville wrote stories that made me wish I had thought of 'em, Neil Gaiman writes stories that made me wish I had written 'em. You could say he's the reader's writer: never condescending, never obtuse, like a good friend you keep coming back to just to hang around. Because he has a lot stories to tell. And because he's that kind of a guy.

P.S. Though am I the only one who envisioned Spider-- complete with his black jacket-- looking like Gaiman himself? Heh. Probably.

P.P.S. Forgot to mention that Gaiman's book has also shot to the top on the New York Times Bestseller lists. More importantly, it has dislodged Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Excellent.

P.P.P.S. Anansi Girl caught me out on something I realized later on after I finished the book, i.e. that Fat Charlie and Spider are non-white or black-skinned. But really, I don't normally think about the color of a character's skin when I read. Except, of course, when I think one of them looks like Neil Gaiman!

Funny enough, I did think that Mr. Nancy was black-skinned but my brain didn't make the proper connections. Eh. Dated: October 17