Sibling Rivalry of the Spider Gods Children

"Stories are webs, interconnected strand to strand, and you follow each story to the center, because the center is the end. Each person is a strand of the story"

Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys

To begin this journey, I read Anansi Boys. Written by the brilliant Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Ocean at the End of the Lane), I knew that I would most likely enjoy it. Might as well have the first step be a good one. Anansi was a character that I had seen before in American Gods, and he was extremely intriguing in that story as the spider god, whom all tales and songs belonged to. But this, as it turns out, was not a story about him; this was a story about his two grown sons who had never met.

Spider and Fat Charlie have lived two very different and opposite lives. Spider has inherited all of the magical and charismatic talent of his father, and lives his life in the fast lane, while Fat Charlie lives out his days as a mundane accountant. When their father dies singing karaoke, they are thrown back into each others lives with disastrous results.

I highly enjoyed this book. Its many twists and turns kept me guessing, and the characters are entirely relateable. The sibling rivalry was fascinating as they get to know each other, first wanting what the other has, and then eventually, how they learn to love each other. The humor in this book was also wonderful. Gaiman did an amazing job mixing the jokes with the, sometimes very, dark humor. 

The thing that I loved the most about this book is that it was a lesson in telling stories. The entire thing is really Anansi teaching his sons his craft: how to circle and build and add characters and drama to the plot line and how to pull it all in for the common end. I feel that, as a reader, it is an interesting thing to think about because, so often, we are just experiencing the story: the plot and the characters. We are never on the outside looking in at all of the strands and how they twist and turn to make us feel emotionally attached to the characters and as if we are in the story experiencing it with them. 

It is so often we forget how much power a story can have. It can cause personal growth and change, Stories teach us lessons in empathy, and allow us to imagine how a character is feeling, which is truly remarkable when you think about it. I loved this book because showed how important made up stories are in a truly wonderful and subtle way, weaving together all of the strands of the spider web.