Anansi Boys cover art

Anansi Boys

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Anansi Boys

By: Neil Gaiman
Narrated by: Lenny Henry
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

A darkly comic family fable and companion novel to American Gods.

THE NUMBER ONE NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER AND COMPANION NOVEL TO AMERICAN GODS.

Everything changes for Fat Charlie Nancy, the South London boy so called by his father, the day his dad drops dead while doing karaoke.

Charlie didn't know his estranged father was a god - Anansi the trickster, master of mischief and social disorder. He never knew he had a brother either.

Now brother Spider is on his doorstep, about to make life more interesting...and a lot more dangerous. It's a meeting that will take Fat Charlie from his London home to Florida, the Caribbean, and the very beginning of the world itself. Or the end of the world, depending on which way you're looking.

NEIL GAIMAN.

WITH STORIES COME POSSIBILITIES.

©2005 Neil Gaiman (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers Inc. Fantasy Fiction Thought-Provoking Witty Funny

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Sandman cover art
In the Eyes of Mr Fury cover art
When God Was a Rabbit cover art
Jellyfish cover art
Crocodile on the Sandbank cover art
Virgins cover art
Theft of Swords cover art

Critic reviews

"Neil could never have known that he was writing for a confused Jamaican kid who, without even knowing it, was still staggering from centuries of erasure of his own gods and monsters." (Marlon James)

"A warm, funny, immensely entertaining story about the impossibility of putting up with your relations - especially if they happen to be Gods." (Susanna Clarke)

"It's virtually impossible to read more than ten words by Neil Gaiman and not wish he would tell you the rest of the story." (Observer)

All stars
Most relevant  
Not being a fan of Lenny Henry, i was somewhat worried when a friend bought me this for my birthday this year, I expected his voice to grate throughout, and ruin a brilliant book by one of my favourite authors. I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that he does a great job of telling the story, bringing a real sense of life to the characters- there's no denying that his range is limited, but it serves this book well. The reason behind my giving it 4 stars, then- I'd say that Gaiman's previous novel, 'American Gods' is a more compelling story (but I'm not sure if it's available on audiobook- certainly, it isn't from audible) and in terms of capturing the essence of a story perfectly, you can't beat Neil reading his own work- I'm thinking of the audiobook reading of the wonderful coraline, his dark fantasy aimed at children but massively enjoyable for adults nonetheless (unfortunately, audible doesn't stock this great book either). Still, these are minor quibbles, Neil is a master storyteller and I highly recommend all of his work. A more accurate score would be 9/10.

A great story, well told

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lenny Henry is the perfect narrator for this story, which is excellent, and conducts a flawless performance.

Excellent story, perfect narration!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lenny Henry's narration was fantastic, I didn't know it was him at first but wish he had narrated all of the Neil Gaiman books I have listened to! This is a long book and even though I have read it before, the details are still interesting and I think one of the best from Neil Gaiman.

excellent narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I absolutely loved every second of this, Lenny was tremendous & Gaimanvs writing, as usual, inspired.

Perfection.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Really good book. Fantastic made ordinary (well not ordinary, but written as if what happened might happen, in an unusual kind of way - well, I know what I mean!!). I didn't know Lenny Henry could read so well. His voices were superb. It was like listening to a play. I will definitely look for books that he is reading in the future.

Anansi Boys

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If you could sum up Anansi Boys in three words, what would they be?

Absolutely flipping brilliant!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Anansi Boys?

Lenny Henry's reading of it. I've not been a huge fan of his over the years but he totally blew me away with his reading of this.

Which character – as performed by Lenny Henry – was your favourite?

All of them - so beautifully bought to life by Lenny Henry.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes - made me laugh and immersed in a wonderful world. Brilliant writing by Neil Gaiman.

Any additional comments?

Will not disappoint - do yourself a favour and download it now! :)

Best audio book I've ever heard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Classic Gaiman. Funny charming and interesting. An amazing book all around. The narration is superb too.

Amazing book and narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lenny Henry is the man for this book, He keeps you glued to story and just keeps his voice to portray the people and not go over the top. One of the best on Audible and a great take on Anansi and his wonderful tales of Africa and when the world was new. Gaiman is a master of his craft.

Pure Joy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This Audio book is brilliant!

The simplicity of a timeless story, over-layed with Neil Gaiman's imagination and Lenny Henry's outstanding performance, made this a real joy to listen to.

A wonderful story, with an exceptional performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book years ago. I enjoyed it then but this book brought to life by the brilliant narration by Lenny Henry.

Great book. Fantastic narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews