jimfox14 's review for:

The Elder Edda by Unknown

4.0

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It's hard to rate a book of mythological texts, especially one as strange and alien as Norse myth seems at times. So instead I rate the quality of the translation. This edition is translated and edited by Andy Orchard. He did a great job making the myths and poems herein understandable as well as offering detailed endnotes to help explain some of the more obscure passages. Poetry loses much of what makes it poetic simply by the nature of translation from one language to another. Nevertheless, Orchard's translation gets the job done. The mystical settings, the gods and heroes, and the tragedies and experiences they all face are all still very potent in this edition.