Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book

Yes, I know, there is no need for another sort-of-review of any of Neil Gaiman's books because there are already thousands of highly qualified writings about his work out there. He is a prolific writer, has a wide, diverse and also devout audience (of which Wonderguy is a proud member) and countless different platform—a lot of them highly professional and influential—have already discussed his numerous works. Still, thoughts are free and unicorns are still a thing, so let me reflect on my personal adventure with Shadow, Wednesday and all the other blokes who are setting the stage for a reading experience that was by far not as smooth as The Graveyard Book (my favourite Neil Gaiman book so far, though I have some more reading to do), but still

I never read the Harry Potter-series (though I always wanted to read something by J.K. Rowling and A Casual Vacancy made that happen, but that's another story) or Lord of the Rings and I was surprised to find out that Philip Pullman was NOT in Independence Day (though: kudos to a fellow atheist, may the bridges we burn light our way...). Apart from an occasional Terry Pratchett I am hardly Neil Gaiman's target audience, which might be a reason why reading The Graveyard Book, with its comparably small cast and fictional world, was 'easier' and much more enjoyable to read than American Gods. Another reason might be that Wonderguy told me to read Norse Mythology before American Gods to be well-prepared and—truth to be told—this sort of preparation pretty much killed my vibe. I am all for some deeper insight into the backgrounds of stories and novels, but my enthusiasm has its limits and Norse Mythology exhausted these: starting with all the ridiculous names I never had a chance of remembering (for e.g. Gullinbursti the boar, Svadilfari the horse, or inanimated

Shadow is the one you want to have with you on a roadtrip (yeah I know, what a surprising remark considering parts of the book); he is the one you want to ask how to handle the ugly shit—even better, you want him to handle the ugly shit; in short he is the big brother I always wanted. He is THE one invariable in the midst of an ugly and violently changing world—and I'm not referring to the sort of Ragnarok Gaiman describes in American Gods. Maybe Shadow is in some ways an all-Amercan hero which makes him seem so familiar; maybe it's something personal in regard to ex-cons in literature, I don't know. I do know that his character, his story was the reason I finished the