Disclaimer: I do not support Neil Gaiman and believe the allegations against him. I read this book in 2006, 2011, and 2017, when none of his actions had become public. American Gods is an archetypal hero's journey, a study of supporting characters on a fairly blank slate narrator's journey, which he is propelled upon by the whims of the gods. In that way, it becomes much like a Homeric epic. I greatly enjoyed the prose, the clash between the mythic and the modern (and undebatably even the post-modern), and the supporting cast of mythological figures. While Shadow often is criticized as too underdeveloped, that is clearly purposeful from the reading of the text--even his name belies his role as everyman protagonist. While I did enjoy the television adaptation rounding him out, I understand the intention of Gaiman in the text. I don't know that I can recommend this book now, unless you buy it secondhand. But if you do and can divorced author from art in such a way, it's a quite worthwhile story.