mondojohnson

Neil Gaiman is a masterful writer whom I would place between Douglas Adams and the Brothers Grimm in the storyteller hall of fame. Anyone who has not done so should read his creepy and beautiful “Coraline“, which convinced me of his genius. The man understands “the uses of enchantment” studied by Bruno Bettelheim — effective fairly tales are the ones that show that there are dark terrors lurking behind the gingerbread walls of wish fulfillment.

“Anansi Boys” has a softer touch than “Coraline”. It follows the story of a young man called “Fat Charlie” as he comes to learn that his recently deceased father was in fact a god — a playful, trickster god who occasionally took the form of a spider. This god, Anansi, was one of many animal deities appearing in Caribbean and African folktales; stories which “created the world.”

Fat Charlie learns more about his divine lineage through a chaotic reunion with a brother named Spider that he didn’t know existed. Mishaps, misunderstandings and murder ensue, leading Fat Charlie toward an uneasy embrace of his weird family.

The main story is interspersed with the old Anansi stories, which could stand alone as bedtime tales. When woven with the larger narrative, the effect is brilliant and unique.