Anansi Boys
First edition cover
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| Author | Neil Gaiman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard Aquan (1st printing hardcover edition); general design, Shubhani Sarkar; image collage credited to Getty Images |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Morrow |
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Publication date
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September 20, 2005 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 400 pp |
| Award | Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2006) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 60402072 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PR6057.A319 A85 2005 |
| Preceded by | American Gods |
Anansi Boys is a novel by Neil Gaiman. In the novel, "Mr. Nancy" — an incarnation of the West African trickster god Anansi — dies, leaving two sons, who in turn discover each other. The novel follows their adventures as they explore their common heritage. While not a sequel to Gaiman's previous novel American Gods, the character of Mr. Nancy appears in both books.
Anansi Boys was published on 20 September 2005 and was released in paperback on 1 October 2006. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list, and won both the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Society Award in 2006. The audiobook was released in 2005, narrated by Lenny Henry.
Anansi Boys is the story of Charles "Fat Charlie" Nancy, a timid Londoner devoid of ambition, whose unenthusiastic wedding preparations are disrupted when he learns of his father's death in Florida. The flamboyant Mr. Nancy, in whose shadow Fat Charlie has always lived, died in a typically embarrassing manner by suffering a fatal heart attack while singing to a young woman on stage in a karaoke bar.
Fat Charlie is forced to take time off from the talent agency where he works and travel to Florida for the funeral. Afterwards, while discussing the disposal of Mr. Nancy's estate, Mrs. Callyanne Higgler, a very old family friend, reveals to Fat Charlie that the late Mr. Nancy was actually an incarnation of the West African spider god, Anansi, hence his name. The reason Charlie had apparently not inherited any divine powers was because they had been passed down to his hitherto unknown brother, whom she mentions can be contacted by simply sending an invitation via a spider. Charlie is skeptical, and on his return to England, largely forgets what Mrs. Higgler had told him, until one night when he drunkenly whispers to a spider that it would be nice if his brother stopped by for a visit.
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