architype v. diety i don't see the difference.

from what i'm getting from A.gods so far, gods push reality around so to speak...so does Anansi...with his ability to make people believe what he wants them to believe...this power over the Very Truth puts him in a league with dieties...

also the ability to create life....wth mud, blood,...etc. and giving the thing a NAME makes it real...

i'd agree that the mermaid symbolism is a bit clumsy...still...she's the only character not represented in Charlie's dreamscape w. all the other animals singing and dancing....

anyway...what's the name of the god of the sea...is he represented in A.GODS or is he dead and forgotten too.

i wouldn't be surprised if Neil's next book deals w. mermaids

Having read both A.Gods and Anasi Boys- i did nt feel like the two works were specifically connected. While similiar in material- both deal with gods existing in a modern world and both have a character modeled on the god Anasi- I didnt get the impression that the two works have any specific connection.
i.e. - the Anasi of American Gods is not the same Anasi of Anasi Boys- they just happen to both be built around the same folklore character- Anasi

and my apologies for all the missing n's ...
Anansi -

I will now go to the chalk board and write it 100 times...

Don't forget, friends and neighbors, that in the stories Anansi is sometimes a man and sometimes a spider. He doesn't change like a shapeshifter, it all depends on the way the story is told. Many of the deeper questions raised on this board about the specific meaning of events, themes and processes in the novel can be resolved by simply remembering that it depends on the way the story is being told. For example, that's why Anansi in American Gods is not the same as Anansi in Anansi Boys. It depends on the way the story is told. It depends too on which threads are woven into a particular story. The story is a web woven by the narrator and the characters he uses, aided by the reader who brings his own threads to the story. This means there is a slightly different story for each reader, as there is a slightly different universe for each observer. It's the Theory of Narrative Relativity, a handy term that I just invented (or more accurately plagiarized).

I hope this helps to clear up some of the confusion. If not, remember, it's only my opinion.

Sincerely,

Bob,
aka Adastra, the Wizzard of Jacksonville

ah but somewhere it is mentioned that the stories of more modern folk characters and children's favourites; like Peter/Brer Rabbit and other 'trickster' characters....anansi's power is in the stories and, from experience, his stories are still told on the Islands (carribbean) and by some West Africans elsewhere

Here's the tuppence worth: in Season of Mists in the Sandman series, Odin approaches Morpheus to buy the key to hell and he offers the collected energies generated by those who read and 'venerated' the Thor etc characters in comic books - so, I reckon in Neil's head - which is his world, just like the rest of us - gods derive their power from numerous sources and can - as Death does - exist in many places at once. So, Mr Wednesday is a distinctly American Odin, which does not preclude the existance of the Norse Odin, for example - and I believe the same 'rule' would apply to Anansi - also, he's something of an almalgam of all the African trickster gods - and that's quite a few deities - he's almost a metaphor for himself, if that makes any kind of sense - bear in mind that I've 12 bottles of Bud down the neck by this stage in the proceedings - it's 4am where I am.