Heritage
Fat Charlie finds himself thrown into a world dominated by heritage when he learns that his dad has died. Although not a significant figure in his son's life during his own, the man seems to be unavoidable in death. Ansansi is a storyteller and one of the spirit animals, a god, in the spirit realm, known for his magical storytelling ability. Since his father possesses some legendary abilities, Charlie is called upon to develop these skills within himself in order to defend against other creatures who want to steal his father's legacy from him and Spider.
Wit Defeating Strength
Ansansi's real strength is his mind. His cleverness manifests in his legendary stories. Being the son of such a mythic force of wit, Charlie finds himself relying on the same skill set to defeat the Tiger. Tiger is the embodiment of pure brute strength in its most animalistic form. In the end, however, Charlie's mind is sharper than Tiger's forcefulness, and the man defeats the beast.
Deceit
Charlie is continually subjected to deceit. From the very beginning, he uncovers his father's secret identity has an animal deity. If he had known of the magical complexities of existence beforehand, perhaps he wouldn't find himself in such an unsatisfying life. When Spider comes along, he deceives Charlie in multiple ways. As if finding a long-lost brother wasn't enough of a surprise, Charlie also catches Spider sleeping with his fiancee and getting him fired for embezzlement. Whatever mistakes Charlie had been making are compounded by the deceitfulness he encounters among the people he trusts most.
Fortune
Fortune, good or bad, plays a central role in this story. Rooted in eastern mythology, the animal deities of the book place great reverence upon the concept of luck. Charlie appears to have the worst fortune of any of them, to the point that he actually trades his heritage to the Bird Woman in order to take one of her feathers as a blessing of good fortune. Eventually events start working to his benefit again, but Charlie has to defy any artificial beliefs in fortune in order to take charge of his actions and change the scales of play.
