Re-read: Anansi Boys

 Anansi Boys was the first Gaiman novel that I actually liked, so when we got to the end of Odd and the Frost Giants, I checked out the book and started reading it to Boen. The story is a perfect blend of The Sandman and the spirit of stories, with interjections of the trickster god myths and little asides that bring in nice touches that Gaiman brings. Notably, it doesn't include any references to the Hempstocks.

The protagonist, Fat Charlie Nancy, is typically British, despite an American upbringing, bringing to mind Douglas Adams' aphorism that the driving force behind being an Englishman is fear of embarrassment. His brother, Spider, is as American as they come, trusting to luck and never planning, while seemingly able to twist the world to his way of thinking. Bringing them together sets in motion a cascade of events that leaves them very different at the end of the novel.

This latest edition of the novel comes with an out-take which I didn't read years ago, and an essay about where ideas come from that I thought was delightful:

You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we’re doing it. You get ideas when you ask yourself simple questions.  (page 334)

Good stuff.