Cover of Anansi Boys

Anansi Boys

core novel 2005 American Gods / Anansi Boys

Record

First published2005
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.04 (231,298 ratings, collected 2026-09-14)
First-edition ISBN9780060515188

Synopsis

Anansi Boys follows Charles "Fat Charlie" Nancy, a timid, easily embarrassed Londoner whose orderly life is upended when his flamboyant, estranged father dies suddenly while performing karaoke in Florida. Returning home for the funeral, Fat Charlie learns from a family friend that his father was in fact an incarnation of Anansi, the West African trickster spider god of stories, and that he has a brother he never knew existed. He soon meets that brother, Spider, who inherited their father's divine charm and magical abilities in full, unlike Fat Charlie himself. When Spider arrives uninvited in London and begins inserting himself into every corner of Fat Charlie's life, including his engagement and his troubled workplace, the two brothers form an uneasy, often comic bond.

Where it sits

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Sources

← American Gods / Anansi Boys dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.