I haven't read Anansi Boys, but I can well imagine how Gaiman's understanding might have fallen short of his agenda. Myth and folktales are so rich and complex, not just in meaning but in-- feel, I guess? Structures and tropes that have formed over centuries (millennia) and in all sorts of different media: oral histories, poetry, songs, informal written histories, compilations by people outside the culture...

Thanks for the advice-- I think it's sound.