American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Listening to American Gods while traveling through the stunning landscapes of New Zealand’s South Island was a surreal and transformative experience.

The narrative of Neil Gaiman’s modern classic, filled with gods, myths, and the power of belief, resonated deeply with us as we drove along the winding roads of our beautiful Aotearoa.

At its core, *American Gods* is a road trip story too – one that blends the mundane with the mystical, following Shadow Moon, a man who is thrust into the world of gods old and new, as they battle for relevance in modern America.

The juxtaposition of the ancient and the contemporary, of spiritual forces clashing in the modern world, mirrored our own journey through small towns and vast, empty spaces. As we passed humble gas stations and little villages, the settings in Gaiman’s novel took on new meaning. Every abandoned roadside stop seemed to hold a potential myth, every run-down town or bustling tourist location, a hidden world just beneath the surface.

The novel encouraged us to reimagine our surroundings, finding meaning in places that might otherwise be overlooked.

The audiobook format added another layer of immersion to our experience. The narrator, George Guidall, did an exceptional job bringing Gaiman’s world to life with his rich, gravelly voice, which felt perfectly suited to the eerie, sometimes dark, yet oddly comforting tone of the story.

Ultimately, American Gods is a story about the persistence of myth in a world that is increasingly disconnected from its past. Gaiman’s work, in all its strange and beautiful complexity, reminded us that there is magic everywhere – if only we know how to look for it.

Rating: ★★★★★