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  • Anansi Boys

  • By: Neil Gaiman
  • Narrated by: Lenny Henry
  • Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,980 ratings)
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Anansi Boys cover art

Anansi Boys

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Lenny Henry
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Summary

A darkly comic family fable and companion novel to American Gods.

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AND COMPANION NOVEL TO AMERICAN GODS.

Everything changes for Fat Charlie Nancy, the South London boy so called by his father, the day his dad drops dead while doing karaoke.

Charlie didn't know his estranged father was a god - Anansi the trickster, master of mischief and social disorder. He never knew he had a brother either.

Now brother Spider is on his doorstep, about to make life more interesting...and a lot more dangerous. It's a meeting that will take Fat Charlie from his London home to Florida, the Caribbean, and the very beginning of the world itself. Or the end of the world, depending on which way you're looking.

NEIL GAIMAN.

WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

©2005 Neil Gaiman (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Critic reviews

"Neil could never have known that he was writing for a confused Jamaican kid who, without even knowing it, was still staggering from centuries of erasure of his own gods and monsters." (Marlon James) 

"A warm, funny, immensely entertaining story about the impossibility of putting up with your relations - especially if they happen to be Gods." (Susanna Clarke) 

"It's virtually impossible to read more than ten words by Neil Gaiman and not wish he would tell you the rest of the story." (Observer

What listeners say about Anansi Boys

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
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  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Anansi brought up to date

This is a wonderful tale of personal conflict, sibling rivalry, the younger generation versus the older, love, cultural roots and more. I lost count of how may stories were included in this one. An enjoyable fantasy which makes great use of the familiar to make sense of the lead character Charlie's life. Lenny Henry read well enough for me not to remember that he was the narrator. (No outlandish laughter!) I was disappointed when I got to the end. I enjoyed the fact that Charlie's real world life ran parallel to his fantasy life. This book make you feel if you turn around quickly you may catch a glimpse of something of another world... It was refreshing to hear an modern take of the anansi story. A great book for leaving the bills, responsibilities and other such matters behind for a few hours

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A great story, well told

Not being a fan of Lenny Henry, i was somewhat worried when a friend bought me this for my birthday this year, I expected his voice to grate throughout, and ruin a brilliant book by one of my favourite authors. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that he does a great job of telling the story, bringing a real sense of life to the characters- there's no denying that his range is limited, but it serves this book well. The reason behind my giving it 4 stars, then- I'd say that Gaiman's previous novel, 'American Gods' is a more compelling story (but I'm not sure if it's available on audiobook- certainly, it isn't from audible) and in terms of capturing the essence of a story perfectly, you can't beat Neil reading his own work- I'm thinking of the audiobook reading of the wonderful coraline, his dark fantasy aimed at children but massively enjoyable for adults nonetheless (unfortunately, audible doesn't stock this great book either). Still, these are minor quibbles, Neil is a master storyteller and I highly recommend all of his work. A more accurate score would be 9/10.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable throughout

Not having known Lenny Henry's work before listening to this book, I had no prejudices. I love Neil Gaiman's writing, his humor, his limitless ideas and full-fledged characters. I've read nearly all of his novels and some short fiction. It's only the Sandman series that I haven't read (yet). At any rate, I was wowed by Henry's performance reading this book. Apparently, he and Gaiman are buddies and he was asked by the author to do this narration. He does a fantastic job of bring each character to life, his accents were spot on (even the American one!), and he imbued the Gods with characteristics from their animal sides which was truly amazing.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Simply Splendid

All Neil Gaiman's stuff is great. This is a funny, clever, book, slightly dark in places, and a total delight. You've no idea what's going to happen next, or where it will end up. But you will be desperate to find out! Lenny Henry reads it beautifully, and brings it fabulously alive.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Look, it's Gaiman, I love Gaiman.

It's hard for me to write an objective review becuase I love Neil Gaiman and everything he does.

In typical Gaiman fashion this is about stories and storytelling and how we the stories we tell make us who we are. Refreshing to have a non-white protagonist too.

Lenny Henry is perfect to read Anansi Boys. Obviously, he gets all the accents right. Obviously.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Good story well told

As with all his other books on Audible, Neil Gaiman doesnt disappoint - the story is filled with dark humour, romance, fantasy and adventure. It is also worth noting Lenny Henry's storytelling abilities - people often forget Lenny's capacity for voices, but it's hard to forget when he puts in a performance like this.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Mr
  • 02-12-12

Great read

I bought this book because I enjoyed American Gods so much and, while there are some strong links between the two books (Anansi), they could not be more different.



The story has tonnes of the charm and imagination that you come to expect from a Neil Gaiman story. I found myself caring about the characters (even the antagonists) who are riddled with personality flaws, conflicts and other baggage. The settings are so vividly described that it was hard not to get lost in the settings.



Lenny Henry makes for a surprisingly excellent narrator for this book - his range of accents is incredible and leads to a very immersive experience. He even pulls-off a posh blazer-wearing middle-aged white guy very well.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Splendid

A simple tale, beautifully told. Lenny Henry's narration is top-notch and the story is accessible and refreshingly unassuming. Can't recommend this one enough.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Neil at his best

Wow! What a book! The main characters are fascinating, lovable and engaging, but so are all the minor characters that you come across in this story, some of which turn out to become quite important indeed.

Big head up on the narrator. This book should be used as a convincing argument why audio books are so great! The narrator, with his thick Caribbean accent, is perfect for the narration.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Version.

Lenny Henry brings this book to sparkling life. He does all of the characters voices so well that you can picture each one. His elderly Caribbean women are a particular triumph. I loved the book as a book, adore it even more in this form. Almost as good as Gaiman's American Gods which is my favourite book of all time.

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2 people found this helpful