WEEK 8: Ananzi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6)

 Neil Gaiman’s work filled with magic and the hardship of love has something that seems to control the entirety of the characters from the novel: Luck. As a matter of fact, his own father dubbed him “Fat Charlie”, a name that would haunt him throughout his life. Already sensitive, his father never really helped him with his condition. Further along in the novel, we even learn that he was actually split into two, his other part being Spider: the inheritor of all his good fortune. What was left for him was his good personality, however that didn’t seem to do much good for him in most of the novel. 


As a matter of fact, Spider has all the magic in the world at his hands, he can get whatever he wants. He steals Charlie’s fiancé, ruins his job, and eventually even becomes the cause for Charlie’s imprisonment. You would think that his deal with Bird would help him, however, after getting freed, his brother puts him right back in prison, and when he reveals the location of his boss’ secret room, where Maeve’s body is found, his boss has already escaped. This almost makes you wonder whether some people in real life are just naturally unlucky. 


Despite all this however, we learn that Charlie never gave up. He went through all the hardship and held his head high as he will end up marrying the cop, and find a new career path involving his newly discovered magical talents. 


You might have an unlucky day, perhaps an unlucky life, however in the end you still move forward, and just as he found his magical talents in singing, perhaps you will find your own piece of luck one day. Afterall, you can’t only be unlucky, otherwise that would simply be called ordinary. 

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