Week Eight: Ananzi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6 pts)

  Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys reads like the best improv story. Early on, Gaiman establishes the rules of Anansi’s powers/archetype through Charlie and his opening interactions with his fiance, Rosie. The idea of songs and names as a way to experience, interact, and manipulate the world form a solid base for the story that the characters build off of each moment. Be it Anansi’s mischief in Charlie’s childhood, Spider’s manipulation, or Charlie’s own quick wit, there are distinct moments of ‘yes, and?’ which makes the storytelling fun and really feel in line with the trickster archetype of Anansi. 

I read American Gods before this. It was nice to see the semi-return of Anansi in this book. Terrible, awful things happen, but it’s all portrayed in such a way that the humor of the situation remains. People either are murdered or have their tongues ripped out, but still come back to haunt those that hurt them. Anansi borderline abused young Charlie, but the story of him dressing up as his favorite president is pretty hilarious. The same thing goes for the relentless pursuit of Charlie and Spider via Bird’s actual birds. These situations are ridiculous and full of humor, but no one is interested in having it happen to them in real life. The escalation of one event to the next feels both like a folk tale and an exercise in modern improv. The focus on animism and magic recalls other works of magical realism. Specifically, it reminded me a lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work. Gaiman’s ability to spin elements of African and West Indian folklore crafts a world where godlike beings still manipulate the familiar, everyday world. This dynamic between the strange and familiar acts as a breeding ground for the strange circumstances Charlie finds himself in. In fact, Charlie and Spider straight up represent the two sides of the world’s coin. The two of them being exposed to each other’s worlds start the long list of events that make up the story of how each got their happy ending. 

Anansi Boys, at several points, had me asking how much worse things can get for poor Charlie. Spider has his own charm, but I found Charlie to be far more relatable. However, once he learns the rules of the world Gaiman crafted for him, he’s able to craft his own story. This novel is a love letter to the oral form of storytelling, and, as a writer, it was a joy to read.