![]() We soon learn that his wife calls him “Puppy” and that the first thing Shadow wants to do once he gets out of prison is take a bath - “ real, long, serious soak, in a tub with bubbles in it.” These snippets are emblematic of the rest of the novel, from its characters and plot to its themes. ![]() And then with the tender detail about his wife, that image gets upended. Up until the last few words you have a pretty stereotypical impression of this Shadow character: a heartless, dangerous inmate. What I love about it is its misdirection. So he kept himself in shape, and taught himself coin tricks, and thought a lot about how much he loved his wife. He was big enough, and looked don’t-fuck-with-me enough that his biggest problem was killing time. I’ve decided that American Gods’ opening paragraph is one of the best I’ve ever read.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |