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challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Personally, the parts that shone the most were Loki's passages (particularly his capture), the thin child's contemporary experiences with war (and her own war of attrition that she fights between reality and her imagination), and 'Homo Homini Lupis Est'. In those parts, the prose flowed beautifully and felt especially vivid, with the insinuation of man replacing Fenrir's role as "swallowers of the earth" being a particular high point.
Unfortunately, I feel like this work falls victim to it's own abundance; it tries to do too many things at once. It's an allegory of our role in climate change, of war and peace, and a manifesto on the machinations of myth. All brilliant ideas, especially when tied to the story of Ragnarök, but it just felt like too much on one plate. It's a shame because if one of those elements had been taken out, it would have been much easier to digest and thus a 5-star read.
As always, A.S. Byatt's writing is beautifully visceral.
Unfortunately, I feel like this work falls victim to it's own abundance; it tries to do too many things at once. It's an allegory of our role in climate change, of war and peace, and a manifesto on the machinations of myth. All brilliant ideas, especially when tied to the story of Ragnarök, but it just felt like too much on one plate. It's a shame because if one of those elements had been taken out, it would have been much easier to digest and thus a 5-star read.
As always, A.S. Byatt's writing is beautifully visceral.