Anansi Boys is a fantasy novel by English writer Neil Gaiman. In the novel, "Mr. Nancy"—an incarnation of the West African trickster god Anansi—dies, leaving twin sons, who in turn discover one another's existence after being separated as young children. The novel follows their adventures as they explore their common heritage. Although it is not a sequel to Gaiman's previous novel American Gods, the character of Mr. Nancy appears in both books.
Gaiman mentioned author Thorne Smith as a strong influence when writing the book; "In the back of my head, when I was writing it, I had a writer named Thorne Smith", and "...the Thorne Smith approach to books with eruptions of magic into normal lives seemed like a territory that would be worthwhile to explore."[1] In the dedication to the novel, he also "tips his hat" to P. G. Wodehouse, Tex Avery and Zora Neale Hurston.[2]
Anansi Boys was published on 20 September 2005 and was released in paperback on 1 October 2006. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list,[3] and won both the Locus Award and the British Fantasy Society Award in 2006.[4] The audiobook was released in 2005, narrated by Lenny Henry.
