Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As enjoyable as the first time.

That is to say, I fell head over heels in love with the idea of stories within stories taking over, of the god of stories, Anansi, passing on his gift of the gab -- a little joy, humor, and sexiness -- into the wide world.

For those of us who know America Gods, this is not a direct sequel even if it carries on a few characters. The real treat is in the story.

I was fooled the first time I read this. I was wondering just how Fat Charlie, a little ponce who gets walked all over, would come into his own. It was so grounded, so funny when he first discovered Spider, that I could very well have just ridden these interactions all the way to the end and would have been happy. A somewhat normal resolution.

Thankfully, the book spun us around and gave us some fully foreshadowed brilliant reveals that changed the entire nature of the book. I love it when this kind of thing gets pulled off. And it's Gaiman. So a little trust IS warranted.

I miss Gaiman's adult work. I've loved all of his adult work so much more than his YA, with a possible exception of Coraline. I loved Coraline very much. But it's the full adult wonkiness that I prefer, and this one kicked ass.

No, it's not American Gods. But it is its own beast, or arachnid, and that is way more than enough for me.

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