WEEK 8 - Mythic Fiction & Contemporary Urban Fantasy: "Ananzi Boys" by Neil Gaiman



"If you have to classify it, it's probably a magical-horror-thriller-ghost-romantic-comedy-family-epic," commented Gaiman during an interview about Ananzi Boys. 
You're probably wondering why I'm starting off this week's blogpost a little differently. You see, I have a habit of reading about the author and their thoughts of the book before even diving head first into anything. Why, you ask? To discover any sort of context regarding the plot, the characters, etc. Were they related to him or her in some way, shape, or form? Were they semi-realistic figments of their past? Or even unrelated to the book itself; what am I to expect from the novel? 
He makes it a point to include a little bit of everything-- humor, satire, comedy, etc. For example, the fact that Fat Charlie isn't actually fat acts as... well, a foreshadowing for the hilarity that is going to ensue later on. Things take a, rather sudden, dramatic turn afterwards however when Charlie discovers that his father is a god after his death. It's this point in the story that almost (as if on cue) warrants Gaiman to drop in "tales on Ananzi" from time to time. 
There also seems to be quite a bit of symbolism regarding the names of each character. For example, Charlie meets someone later on (who he discovers to be his brother) named Spider. People refer to him as "not quite a god but what folk tales might refer to as a trickster"-- which seemingly fits the traits associated with a spider. Sneaky, kiniving, and so on. 
Of course, you wouldn't be able to feel any promise if Neil Gaiman weren't so gifted a writer. When Rosie's mom shows up at Charlie's apartment while Daisy is walking around in her underwear, or when Spider manages to warm up Rosie in a way that Charlie never has; or when Grahame tries to frame Charlie for his own financial gains and Daisy is put on the case-- you experience the tricky complications of mistaken identity and deceptive appearances. Overall however, Anansi Boys is a lighter, looser, more playful fable of sorts. The only difference is that it's a fable/fantasy without using typical fantasy elements. No elves and dwarves, no world ending magic, and definitely no farm boy with a sword. No "can't be beaten" protagonists. Just a seemingly simple character who you feel sorry for at the beginning of the book, but then by the end you kind of want to strangle him.

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