Anansi Boys

Anansi Boys By Neil Gaiman (Audiobook)
Performed by Lenny Henry

Although I am a huge fan of Stardust, another one of Gaiman's novels, it took me awhile to finally pick up a copy of Anansi Boys. Once I got started, though, I couldn't stop. What starts out as an ordinary story about a young man, Charlie, who has an unremarkable job in an accounting firm and also dislikes his fiance's mother and whose father repeatedly embarrassed him as a child, turns out to be a fantastical tale with a father who is a god, a long-lost brother who can talk to spiders, old women with magical powers, other worlds with animal gods, and much more.

Gaiman's ability to interweave fantasy, folklore, humor, and the ordinary make him, in my opinion, one of the most talented and creative writers of our time. No other writer I have read has been able to accomplish this task so seamlessly. Through the book, I found myself laughing out loud with tears streaming down my cheeks, clutching the steering wheel in anticipation, and chuckling at the parallels of human character in my own life.

Lenny Henry does an amazing job narrating this book! The individual personalities of each character shines through as he narrates for the Fat Charlie and his brother, smooth and charming Spider; his father, jolly and happy-go-lucky Anansi; the crazy old Jamaican women friends of his father's; Tiger, the god; the bird woman; and the snide irritating cliches of Fat Charlie's boss, Graham Coats.

It was an amazing book, and I highly recommend listening to the audio version!