So far so good ... I've been able to identify a couple of the gods. The fertility goddess could be from any number of cultures ... Mr. Nancy must be Anansi the spider: a trickster deity in a number of African & African Diaspora religions.
The three sisters, Mr. Wednesday and Czernobog have me stumped, though. Where are they from? What's their purpose? Does grumpy Czernobog exist only for sacrifice (the whole bashing brains in thing).
What does it mean that these gods are all broken down, old, not exactly in the best health. Is this what happens to divinity in America?
Regarding the thread: should've looked at the book a bit more. Didn't realize there were multiple "Parts", in addition to chapters.
Regarding the book: Just finished Chapter 5 last night. I was figuring that maybe Mr. Wednesday is Odin, but I'm not entirely sure. (For the most part it has to do with his appearance during a thunder storm, the fact that he likes blond women with very fair skin, and the little story that was told in one of the chapters about the arrival of the Vikings in America (Vineland) before Erik the SomethingOrOther (I can't quite remember the name).)
Czernobog and his sisters (?) are a bit confusing to me, and not being much of an archaeologist, I'm not able to identify the different gods past a certain point.
As for the guy that was threatening Shadow -- that petulant little rich kid in the limo -- I'm guessing that maybe he's a new god? Of technology or the Internet or something? If so, there's not yet nearly enough porn.
Also Mad Seweeny -- A leprechaun maybe? or one of those Piskies?
And what about Shadow's wife coming back from the grave? Was that because of the coin he dropped in the grave?
I remember hearing in an interview with Gaiman regarding this book that in it he wondered what happened to all the gods people brought over from other lands and abandoned here when they assimilated to the American culture. The gods, I guess, age according to the numbers of their followers in this land.
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Written Nov. 7, 2007 / Report /
So far so good ... I've been able to identify a couple of the gods. The fertility goddess could be from any number of cultures ... Mr. Nancy must be Anansi the spider: a trickster deity in a number of African & African Diaspora religions.
The three sisters, Mr. Wednesday and Czernobog have me stumped, though. Where are they from? What's their purpose? Does grumpy Czernobog exist only for sacrifice (the whole bashing brains in thing).
What does it mean that these gods are all broken down, old, not exactly in the best health. Is this what happens to divinity in America?
Gnorb
Written Nov. 12, 2007 / Report /
Regarding the thread: should've looked at the book a bit more. Didn't realize there were multiple "Parts", in addition to chapters.
Regarding the book: Just finished Chapter 5 last night. I was figuring that maybe Mr. Wednesday is Odin, but I'm not entirely sure. (For the most part it has to do with his appearance during a thunder storm, the fact that he likes blond women with very fair skin, and the little story that was told in one of the chapters about the arrival of the Vikings in America (Vineland) before Erik the SomethingOrOther (I can't quite remember the name).)
Czernobog and his sisters (?) are a bit confusing to me, and not being much of an archaeologist, I'm not able to identify the different gods past a certain point.
As for the guy that was threatening Shadow -- that petulant little rich kid in the limo -- I'm guessing that maybe he's a new god? Of technology or the Internet or something? If so, there's not yet nearly enough porn.
Also Mad Seweeny -- A leprechaun maybe? or one of those Piskies?
And what about Shadow's wife coming back from the grave? Was that because of the coin he dropped in the grave?
I remember hearing in an interview with Gaiman regarding this book that in it he wondered what happened to all the gods people brought over from other lands and abandoned here when they assimilated to the American culture. The gods, I guess, age according to the numbers of their followers in this land.