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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
A fun and accessible introduction into the classic legends. It doesn’t quite do for the Norse stories what Stephen Fry’s ‘Mythos’ and other works do for the Greeks, but it is still an enjoyable read and way into that world.
Amo a Neil Gaiman, soy muy fan de su forma de escribir. Neil Gaiman + Mitos nórdicos era justo lo que necesitaba. Excelente libro.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Neil Gaiman, and even though I'd purchased the hardcover, I waited for the library copy of the audiobook, as I love having Neil Gaiman read to me even more than I like just reading him. So, I was pre-disposed to like this book. Also, I'm interested in Norse Mythology. Maybe I've been too interested in it lately to truly enjoy this book. What is that? How could that be?
A year ago, I read Joanne M. Harris' The Gospel of Loki and got to experience almost all of the same stories that are in this volume. I realize that these books are both based on historic myths, and that neither author is claiming originality for the plots. But the retellings were so similar in many parts that it was distracting me away from the story, pulling me to place the two books side by side and compare. Yes, this volume has some stories which aren't in the Loki book as they don't feature Loki. The most notable, and one of my favorite of this volume, was "Hymir and Thor's Fishing Expedition." That was lovely, and unfamiliar to me, and reinforced that while strong, Thor is kind of a meat head and not always making great choices.
Norse Mythology is a good book and an interesting read. It's also broken down into neat fables, so it will be easy in the future to go back and re-read certain stories if I want to refer to them. It is an annoyance to me that Greek (and by extension, Roman) myths are so much more well known that Norse ones in the US, at least in my personal experience. Everyone knows about Hercules' challenges and Narcissa's pool and Syssiphis rolling the stone up the hill every day, etc. And, because I've read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series to my son, even kids know these stories. But other than Marvel comics, what do people know about the Norse gods? Not as much. So, I've been trying to learn them so I can incorporate them into my many rambling thoughts more easily. This book is helpful for that mission.
But, I only liked this book, rather than loved it, for two reasons:
1. I love Neil Gaiman's original plots, and we missed out on not getting anything truly original here, as these were all true to the myths. Yes, that was his goal. But, but, but, where is the creepy graveyard, or the ocean at the end of the lane, or Fat Charlie meeting his brother - as Anansi Boys was also based on myth, but had a truly original plot that was awesome. So, I missed out on that like a missed opportunity. Maybe some dusty old Finnish or Norwegian literature scholar could have written this and Mr. Gaiman could have given us something new, was my feeling of missed opportunity. A lost volume seller type of damage, for the former law student readers of this review. He did a great job with it, but I felt like we were missing out on not getting something truly new.
2. And then there is my, likely unfair, comparison to The Gospel of Loki. Ms. Harris is also a very talented writer, so I also had decent expectations for that book, and it met them. There was the interesting "lessons to be learned" from each story, which were also funny in hindsight, as the lessons were from the perspective of Loki the trickster. And then there is the structure of the whole collection with its focus on Loki, his unique perspective. I just thought that this collection, while not containing all of the stories in the other one (because it excluded any which didn't feature Loki), had more of a cohesive theme and story running through them. Maybe that isn't necessary, but it was welcome.
So there you have it. Worth your time to read. A good resource for future reference on these myths. But I'm curious if anyone else has also read this two, in the same order that I did, if you share my feelings. Or, if anyone reads this one first and then picks up Loki, how does that reading order sit?
A year ago, I read Joanne M. Harris' The Gospel of Loki and got to experience almost all of the same stories that are in this volume. I realize that these books are both based on historic myths, and that neither author is claiming originality for the plots. But the retellings were so similar in many parts that it was distracting me away from the story, pulling me to place the two books side by side and compare. Yes, this volume has some stories which aren't in the Loki book as they don't feature Loki. The most notable, and one of my favorite of this volume, was "Hymir and Thor's Fishing Expedition." That was lovely, and unfamiliar to me, and reinforced that while strong, Thor is kind of a meat head and not always making great choices.
Norse Mythology is a good book and an interesting read. It's also broken down into neat fables, so it will be easy in the future to go back and re-read certain stories if I want to refer to them. It is an annoyance to me that Greek (and by extension, Roman) myths are so much more well known that Norse ones in the US, at least in my personal experience. Everyone knows about Hercules' challenges and Narcissa's pool and Syssiphis rolling the stone up the hill every day, etc. And, because I've read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series to my son, even kids know these stories. But other than Marvel comics, what do people know about the Norse gods? Not as much. So, I've been trying to learn them so I can incorporate them into my many rambling thoughts more easily. This book is helpful for that mission.
But, I only liked this book, rather than loved it, for two reasons:
1. I love Neil Gaiman's original plots, and we missed out on not getting anything truly original here, as these were all true to the myths. Yes, that was his goal. But, but, but, where is the creepy graveyard, or the ocean at the end of the lane, or Fat Charlie meeting his brother - as Anansi Boys was also based on myth, but had a truly original plot that was awesome. So, I missed out on that like a missed opportunity. Maybe some dusty old Finnish or Norwegian literature scholar could have written this and Mr. Gaiman could have given us something new, was my feeling of missed opportunity. A lost volume seller type of damage, for the former law student readers of this review. He did a great job with it, but I felt like we were missing out on not getting something truly new.
2. And then there is my, likely unfair, comparison to The Gospel of Loki. Ms. Harris is also a very talented writer, so I also had decent expectations for that book, and it met them. There was the interesting "lessons to be learned" from each story, which were also funny in hindsight, as the lessons were from the perspective of Loki the trickster. And then there is the structure of the whole collection with its focus on Loki, his unique perspective. I just thought that this collection, while not containing all of the stories in the other one (because it excluded any which didn't feature Loki), had more of a cohesive theme and story running through them. Maybe that isn't necessary, but it was welcome.
So there you have it. Worth your time to read. A good resource for future reference on these myths. But I'm curious if anyone else has also read this two, in the same order that I did, if you share my feelings. Or, if anyone reads this one first and then picks up Loki, how does that reading order sit?
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
i enjoyed it immensely. i love all the different norse myths - they're so interesting
A student of mine recommended this book to me & I'm glad he did because I probably wouldn't have known about it if he hadn't told me of it. Neil Gaiman is a GREAT storyteller and weaves story after story about Odin, Loki, and Thor in this collection of Norse mythology. There were several stories that made me laugh out loud and some that made me ponder the message within.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes short stories, mythology, or has any knowledge of Norse mythology and the movies that feature Thor and his family members.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes short stories, mythology, or has any knowledge of Norse mythology and the movies that feature Thor and his family members.
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes