Contemporary Myths

Synergism of both old and new. Essentially, it's the retelling of an older story but given the twists of the contemporary world. All that is fantastical can still take place in our time period but by the setting and events occurring you can essentially renovate old myths to fit our lives. That's exactly what Neil Gaiman does with Anansi Boys. The book is actually designed after African myths about Anansi and Gaiman pushes it a step further as he writes about Anansi's sons. Gaimain takes an old myth and builds upon it using the contemporary setting as his backdrop. This synergism makes for an incredibly engaging read. It gives the reader something normalistic to hold onto but also something fantastical for them to get lost in. Anansi Boys has all the demons of the contemporary world (Big Business, Womanizing, etc.) combined with the mythical demons of the past. I think that this fusion is what makes Gaiman's work stand out so strongly from the rest. His technique is amazing but it's really this synergistic writing that captivates audiences.
Give me something I know, but shake it up a bit
is basically how I would describe Gaiman's work. It feels so real because the fantastical/mythological events occurring are happening to real people (Such as Fat Charlie).
All in all a great read and one of my favorites from the class.