Blurb:
Fat Charlie Nancy’s normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn’t know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother. Now brother Spider is on his doorstep—about to make Fat Charlie’s life more interesting . . . and a lot more dangerous.
One cord was absitavely struck while I was reading this book and that is identity. Not only is “Fat Charlie” getting married, he also doesn’t have a full sense of identity because he didn’t know that his father was a God as an incarnate of the African spider God named Anansi. How many of us share that lack of full sense of identity because we don’t know the whole truth . . . even about ourselves?
A second cord that was ringing through quite clearly during my reading was family. At one point in the book, Fat Charlie wishes his brother ( Spider ) away because of all the supposed calamity now happening in his life, which isn’t a surprise since most of us can relate to inter-family conflict. While his brother has brought new things, including super powers passed on from their father ( that Charlie doesn’t have ), Fat Charlie does finally come to grips with everything in a way that wraps the story up perfectly.
What makes this book resonate and work so well is that it is both fantasy and down to Earth. It’s easy to read and presents a complex storyline at the same time. I give Anansi Boys a solid ★★★★☆ four stars out of five.
The reason I knocked of a star is that the writing is so simple that a middle school grader could understand, so my craving for complexity in sentence form and for real-world knowledge wasn’t quite filled – other than that, it was a splendid and cuteish.
Guys and gals, until next time – may you find all the happiness that your life can fit in it’s happy spot – S.D. McKinley.
