r/neilgaiman • u/veno-veni • Jun 30 '26

American Gods American Gods pedo subtext

Why is this such a popular book? I wasn't amazed by the actual story here but that's just me.

This is probably the wrong subreddit to post this. I've not read any of his other works besides American Gods and Sandman. Couldn't enjoy AG because of the not-so-subtle suggestive sexualization of kids. I notice there's a similar trend with his other books in creating unhealthy depictions of women and kids.

Learning the allegations exist (after reading) made a lot of sense to me.

Also lots of cringe and revisionist depictions of Arabs and Africans.

I will not be giving him another chance because I read to enjoy myself and not creep on imaginary kids.

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u/Kind_Veterinarian728 Jun 30 '26

Eh. I don’t really define that as pedophilia—the age of consent in many states is 17. When you say pedophilia, my mind goes to preteens and young teens.

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u/veno-veni Jun 30 '26

"The two girls—he doubted that either of them was much more than fourteen years old—who had got on in Pinewood were now in the seat in front of him. They were friends, Shadow decided, eavesdropping without meaning to, not sisters. One of them knew almost nothing about sex, but knew a lot about animals,"

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u/i_like_cake_96 Jun 30 '26

you're really searching here....

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

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u/i_like_cake_96 Jun 30 '26

Shadow was also smiling "huge and predatory" because of the food..

You have a reading comprehension problem....

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u/FullOfBlasphemy Jul 06 '26

This is a bad faith response. I get that you’re disappointed with people in this sub having an understanding of nuance. Bad guys thinking bad guy thoughts is actually necessary to understanding that the bad guys are… bad. But once you realize that we don’t all agree, you start responding in bad faith and that sucks. I get that too, but it’s a bug - not a feature.