Can you guys guess what I’m excited about? We’ve now got our Jacquel and our Ibis! Hooray for more Demore Barnes in the Fullerverse! (Honestly, I always imagined Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis a bit older than Obi and Barnes, but this holds true for a lot of the show casting. In my mind, I’d always pictured Giancarlo Esposito as Ibis and Lance Reddick as Jacquel.)
As you might have guessed, Jacquel and Ibis have always been my favorite characters in American Gods, and we meet them in this week’s reading. I remember once hearing that the mark of a good story is that you could easily imagine any of the side characters as the protagonist of their own great book. I think this person was talking about Charles Dickens, but this is so true for American Gods too, and I’ve always thought that Jacquel and Ibis’s story would be a fascinating one to know more about: two mostly-forgotten gods caring for the dead in Cairo, IL. If Neil Gaiman ever wanted to create an Anansi Boys-style spin off for these two, I’d be more than down for it.
This week’s reading also introduces the story of Salim and the Jinn, wandering the streets of New York. I love this story, I’m endlessly excited about the casting for these characters, and I’m hoping that the show expands this bit of the book, as it seems they might. I can’t express how thrilled I am by the idea of a queer Muslim love story on American television. Within the novel, Salim’s story feels pretty self-contained. Any thoughts on how the series might expand on this bit of the novel, which feels pretty self-contained as it is?
What else interested you in this week’s reading? Let me hear from y’all or, as always, feel free to post your own observations on your blog. Don’t forget to tag your posts #AmericanGodsBookClub
PS - Sorry for the late post and the lack of activity last week. I’ve been traveling but am now back in NYC, eyes peeled for any taxi-driving jinn I might encounter. ;)
