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matthewptaylor's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bluestarfish's review against another edition
5.0
The thin child is a war evacuee who is given 'Asgard and the Gods' by her mother and is drawn into the myths, lost and found in them, delighting in the beauty and gory. As I was reading this short novel. The "retelling" of the Norse myths is bound in the experience of this young girls reading of them and is deceptively simple. The lyrical telling is gorgeous and urgent. Ragnarok and the end of the world/gods is a myth that resonates with me right now in a deep, deep way. There is a helpful note at the back about myths too (unlike 'The Pilgrims Progress' they are not parables).
This was a recommendation from a colleague and I am very grateful for having had this book thrust in my hands.
This was a recommendation from a colleague and I am very grateful for having had this book thrust in my hands.
_persephone19_'s review against another edition
4.0
Niente è indistruttibile, ed anche gli Asi crollarono.
Narrazione di miti fatta in modo incredibile. Una prosa che a volte non risulta del tutto semplice da comprendere. Sono poche pagine, ma è tutto dettagliatamente spiegato
Narrazione di miti fatta in modo incredibile. Una prosa che a volte non risulta del tutto semplice da comprendere. Sono poche pagine, ma è tutto dettagliatamente spiegato
beccakate89's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Byatt states that she doesn't want to artificially complicate the characters of the myth, and she achieved her aim, with her rich and meditative description focusing on environment and landscape rather than character. However I personally would have found it easier to anchor my understanding of the ragnarok tale, with a longer, more developed interpretation.
dozylocal's review against another edition
3.0
This is a short little book weaving together myths from Viking times (I've been watching the Vikings TV series and spotted some sources). I'm not sure if one would call it a summary? There is a lot of imagery and I liked the way the author threaded the myths into the context of a little British girl reading the tales during WW II.
jwsg's review
3.0
I love myths and legends and one of my favourite books is Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I was therefore thrilled when I learned that AS Byatt had written a book based on Norse saga on Ragnarok, the end of the world. But Ragnarok isn't quite your usual collection of myths. As Byatt explains in the epilogue, Canongate had invited her to write a myth and Byatt immediately knew it had to be Ragnarok. She writes that she tried once or twice to write the myth in the traditional way, of "telling the myth that preserved its distance and difference", but finally realised that she was writing the myth in the way that she had understood and interpreted the myth as a child, when she read a copy of Asgard and the Gods given to her by her mother. As a result, Ragnarok is not just a story of Norse gods like Odin and Loki, but also of a thin child in the wartime who reads about these gods, is mesmerised by them, thinks about them, relates to them.
This somewhat unusual narrative style threw me off in the beginning; that the first few chapters are less plot-driven narratives than descriptions of a cast of characters and creatures - Yggdrasil the World Ash; Randrasill the Sea Tree, for instance - also made me question whether Ragnarok would be the first collection of myths I'd fail to like.
In the end though, it all comes together. The part of me that loves old-fashioned tales of powerful gods, tricky gods, brash gods, mischievous gods was satisfied by stories of Loki, his children Jorgmungandr, Fenris-Wolf and Hel, of the god Baldur and his mother Frigg. And the story of the thin child in the wartime started to weave itself more tightly, more seamlessly, more comfortably with the Norse tales. The weaving together of the world of the thin child and that of Asgard was, at times, reminiscent of the Neverending Story, when Michael Ende jumps between the worlds of Bastian and that contained within the book that he is so greedily devouring (such that eventually, the two worlds collide in the case of the Neverending Story). A slim and satisfying read.
This somewhat unusual narrative style threw me off in the beginning; that the first few chapters are less plot-driven narratives than descriptions of a cast of characters and creatures - Yggdrasil the World Ash; Randrasill the Sea Tree, for instance - also made me question whether Ragnarok would be the first collection of myths I'd fail to like.
In the end though, it all comes together. The part of me that loves old-fashioned tales of powerful gods, tricky gods, brash gods, mischievous gods was satisfied by stories of Loki, his children Jorgmungandr, Fenris-Wolf and Hel, of the god Baldur and his mother Frigg. And the story of the thin child in the wartime started to weave itself more tightly, more seamlessly, more comfortably with the Norse tales. The weaving together of the world of the thin child and that of Asgard was, at times, reminiscent of the Neverending Story, when Michael Ende jumps between the worlds of Bastian and that contained within the book that he is so greedily devouring (such that eventually, the two worlds collide in the case of the Neverending Story). A slim and satisfying read.
smitchy's review
3.0
This small book is quite a comprehensive look at the mythology of the Norse gods from beginning to end, framed within the story of a young girl experiencing the very really threat of war. While the book itself is quite small, the myths are well fleshed out with lots of descriptive detail.
The stories within the unnamed girl's book of mythology contain both an escape from the realities around her, and acceptance of the realities that adults don't discuss - death happens and even the gods can't avoid it.
The girl is based on Byatt's own life as a young child living in the English countryside during WWII (though I'm struggling to believe such a young child (3 at the time war broke out) tackled Mythology and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - but maybe she was simply more literate than any kids I know - maybe she mixed those experiences with later reading?). Either way the narrative framing certainly works well - the child's wonder at the stories and the mixing in of references to fairytales and christian mythology are bound to make you think about the parallels between the different story forms. I can't remember who recommended Ragnarok for my 2018 reading challenge but it was a great pick and I'm happy they did.
This is a great introduction to the Norse Myths if you have never read them before and it is suitable for younger readers too (mostly - there are mentions of sexual acts and some violence in the myths). I'd classify it as a YA title rather than adult. Anyone adult who has spent a bit of time reading mythology might find Ragnarok a bit dull.
The stories within the unnamed girl's book of mythology contain both an escape from the realities around her, and acceptance of the realities that adults don't discuss - death happens and even the gods can't avoid it.
The girl is based on Byatt's own life as a young child living in the English countryside during WWII (though I'm struggling to believe such a young child (3 at the time war broke out) tackled Mythology and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress - but maybe she was simply more literate than any kids I know - maybe she mixed those experiences with later reading?). Either way the narrative framing certainly works well - the child's wonder at the stories and the mixing in of references to fairytales and christian mythology are bound to make you think about the parallels between the different story forms. I can't remember who recommended Ragnarok for my 2018 reading challenge but it was a great pick and I'm happy they did.
This is a great introduction to the Norse Myths if you have never read them before and it is suitable for younger readers too (mostly - there are mentions of sexual acts and some violence in the myths). I'd classify it as a YA title rather than adult. Anyone adult who has spent a bit of time reading mythology might find Ragnarok a bit dull.