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vermidian's review
3.0
I do have to say, I enjoyed this. I would have given it 3.5 stars if I had the option of half-stars, but as it isn't something I can see myself consistently rereading or suggesting to others, I rounded down.
I enjoyed Baldwin's interpretation of Siegfried's life. It's certainly more continuous than other stories I've read, where the tales tend to conflict and things. While I enjoyed the footnote explanations, I would have preferred not having to flip to the back every time there was one to be read. It's a foot note. Put your note in the foot note!
I really did enjoy the comparisons to other types of mythology. Some were obvious, like winter battling spring. Others I simply had never thought about. The story of Brunhild being the source of Sleeping Beauty was really interesting to me. It had never occurred to me that it had originated as a Norse myth as opposed to a Grimm Fairy Tale. I thought that was very interesting. You learn something new every day, right?
The illustrations were fun, but not really accurate to the story. I commented that the illustration of Thor was funny to me because if he lifted his arms, you'd get to see the crowned jewels of Asgard. Also, a lot of pink! I don't think I've ever seen so much pink used when it comes to Viking stories in my life.
Overall, this isn't really something I would suggest to others. The voice in which it's written is like a boring Shakespeare knock off, meaning you really need to love mythology to enjoy this book. I would recommend it to people looking for interpretations of Norse mythology, but not something necessarily to be read for fun. It definitely was not something I felt compelled to read out of sheer joy and personal amusement.
I enjoyed Baldwin's interpretation of Siegfried's life. It's certainly more continuous than other stories I've read, where the tales tend to conflict and things. While I enjoyed the footnote explanations, I would have preferred not having to flip to the back every time there was one to be read. It's a foot note. Put your note in the foot note!
I really did enjoy the comparisons to other types of mythology. Some were obvious, like winter battling spring. Others I simply had never thought about. The story of Brunhild being the source of Sleeping Beauty was really interesting to me. It had never occurred to me that it had originated as a Norse myth as opposed to a Grimm Fairy Tale. I thought that was very interesting. You learn something new every day, right?
The illustrations were fun, but not really accurate to the story. I commented that the illustration of Thor was funny to me because if he lifted his arms, you'd get to see the crowned jewels of Asgard. Also, a lot of pink! I don't think I've ever seen so much pink used when it comes to Viking stories in my life.
Overall, this isn't really something I would suggest to others. The voice in which it's written is like a boring Shakespeare knock off, meaning you really need to love mythology to enjoy this book. I would recommend it to people looking for interpretations of Norse mythology, but not something necessarily to be read for fun. It definitely was not something I felt compelled to read out of sheer joy and personal amusement.
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