Book Review: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Charles Nancy had a tough childhood. His dad was quite the joker and always pulling tricks on him. Like the time he told his son that children dress up for Presidents' Day at school and get big bags of candy. Of course Charles was mercilessly mocked at school and got no sympathy from dad that night. Worse yet, his dad nicknamed him "Fat Charlie." Any name Mr. Nancy gave somebody stuck to them like glue, so Fat Charlie was always trying to get himself a different nickname. He got so exasperated with his father's teasing ways (not to mention is roving eye), he moved to England. As an adult, he's got a respectable job and a fiancé who has an overbearing mother. Things are going well until his dad dies and he has to fly back to Florida for the funeral. His dad had a heart-attack while singing karaoke at a tourist bar--too much flirting with the blonde tourists probably did him in. Strange things happen back in Florida, including the discovery of a brother Fat Charlie never knew he had. He begins a voyage of discovery that takes him back and forth across the Atlantic and even into the realm of the Caribbean gods, because his father was really Anansi, the spider god. He's the trickster god of their pantheon and he's still causing trouble for both his sons.

The novel is a whimsical fantasy like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Crazy events keep happening and the writer is fairly self-aware of his own storytelling. The tone is light and refreshing and this makes great summer reading. I listened to it as an audio book (rented from the library!). The reader, Lenworth Henry, does a fantastic job with the British and Caribbean accents as well as crafting memorable character voices.

Definitely worth reading and/or listening to!

Book Review: Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key

Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key

Tony and Tia are two orphan children raised by a surrogate grandmother. Readers never get to meet that grandmother since she is killed in a car accident just before the story begins. The two orphans enter the foster care system, which is pretty much like every literary foster care system since Dickens, i.e. terrible. They are carted off to an orphanage where they come in conflict with the unsympathetic owner and the bullies. Tony reluctantly gets into a fight with head bully Truck. He has incredible fighting moves that let him beat the physically superior and armed bully, which makes the other kids happy if not the owner. He can also make inanimate objects move by will power. Tia has her own special powers. She can't talk but every door she comes to she can get through, locked or not. She has a soft spot for animals and has been in trouble for setting them free before. Also, she easily communicates telepathically with Tony, so there's clearly something different and unexplained about their origin. A chance clue leads them on an adventure in search of their family and their true origin.

I remember watching the movie version of this book along with a bunch of sequels on TV as a kid and loving it. Listening to this audio book, I realize I remember almost nothing of the plot other than the surprise origin revealed at the end of the book (which is spoiled by the cover of the book). Even knowing the ending, the book is very satisfying. The characters are interesting and plenty of action keeps things moving along. The narrator is Marc Thompson, who does a fine job portraying a variety of characters and evoking various moods in various scenes.

I recommend both the book and the audio version. I'm curious to watch the films again.