3.5 stars. Many people told me that this book was utterly amazing, extremely deep, and highbrow. After reading it I wouldn’t say that I agree with any of that, although I did enjoy it immensely. The book was very entertaining and filled with interesting characters and a few mysteries that really keep you going. I loved all the different mythological characters that were included and many of the tricks or cons mentioned were funny and interesting. However, I was very disappointed in all of the female characters. Nearly every single woman in this book came off as a bit flat or something of a stereotype-the innocent small-town girl who loves taking care of animals, the long-time good-hearted wife who cares about her husband despite having cheated on him, and the seductress that seems to live off of men enjoying her body etc. The women in the story primarily functioned in reaction to or because of their feelings for men and they seemed a bit two dimensional. (However I went back and forth between book and audiobook and I wonder if the voice acting further cemented my opinions of the flat female characters- I’m not really sure). And yes- I understand the very obvious metaphors and issues at play between immigration and globalization. I do like those commentaries, but even if the women in the book are symbols within that metaphor, they come off far weaker than their male counterparts. (Though I will add that I do honestly enjoy those metaphors). What I also found odd was that some of the magic or fabulist parts of the novel were more believable then some of the dialogue said at points. I didn’t question the magic happening but I didn’t question if someone would really say a particular sentence etc. This doesn’t mean that I think the novel is bad- just that it isn’t perfect. Also, while it made me very curious and I had fun reading it, it didn’t elicit sorrow or extreme joy or other feelings that some novels do if they strike close to home. That shouldn’t be too odd as this is a fabulist work and is therefore not always relatable. I have also heard some criticism that the portrayal of certain black characters in this novel aren’t particularly accurate and lack depth which may be due to the writer being white. As I am not black, I can’t make a very serious assessment on the matter, although there definitely wasn’t a lot of explanation of race issues in the text. If you are looking for a very serious, cerebral, or atmospheric magical realism book that I would probably look elsewhere. However, if you were looking for fabulism that mentions a variety of different logical characters while throwing a mystery in and various puzzles, then I would definitely recommend it. (For me, the mythological mysteries were obvious so it may depend on your level of knowledge but that didn’t make the story less entertaining for me). All in all, the book is really overhyped and while it isn’t terrible, I’m hoping I’ll like other books by Gaiman more.