The Library Annex

Now, in Anansi’s stories, they have wit and trickery and wisdom. Now, all over the world, all of the people they aren’t just thinking of hunting and being hunted anymore. Now they’re starting to think their way out of problems – sometimes thinking their way into worse problems. They still need to keep their bellies full, but now they’re trying to figure out how to do it without working – and that’s the point where people start using their heads. Some people think the first tools were weapons, but that’s all upside down. First of all, people figure out the tools. It’s the crutch before the club, every time. Because now people are telling Anansi stories, and they’re starting to think about how to get kissed, how to get something for nothing by being smarter or funnier. That’s when they start to make the world.

Between this and American Gods, Gaiman impresses with his ability to integrate mythological characters and stories into his reality while simultaneously making his story mythological itself.

The main characters follow the mythological archetype of self-discovery and ambiguous parentage. They slay themselves, either literally or metaphorically, in order to find their true nature. And yet each story presents these archetypes in unique and entertaining ways.

In Anansi Boys, I found Gaiman’s analysis of stories and songs intriguing. While the trickster often plays the antagonist, here Gaiman presents him as the pivotal instance of human evolution, during which the human outlook on the world shifts from animalistic survival to ingenuity. We see this evolution as a microchosm within Fat Charlie. By simply shifting perspective of the stories and songs, he discovers himself and “owns” them. He dominates their subject matter, flips the antagonist to the protagonist; again, from a certain perspective.

Both Shadow and Fat Charlie endure a sort of mutilation after which they become whole. With Fat Charlie, the mutilation and brokeness seems a bit “on the nose” in terms of his brother Spider. Yet I love it for the way it differs from Shadow. Gaiman expands the universality of mythological meaning over different forms and presentations. In essence, this, in itself, is mythological and truly reflective of the human experience at its core.

For the second time, Gaiman makes mythological study fun, engaging, accessible and enjoyable. For those looking to learn not only the stories, but their relevance, don’t run to your acadamia textbooks. Try this.