A review by keruichun212
Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt

1.0

I was really excited to read this book due to all the stellar reviews, but was severely disappointed. Perhaps caught in the trap of too high expectations? Don't get me wrong, the writing style was incredible and beautifully done. It would have been a pleasure to read if it just wasn't so incredibly depressing. And if the descriptions of things were halved. I ended up skimming through several sections because I got so bored. But that's me, I don't really care what the tree looks like, I just want to know why the tree is important to the story...and move along with the story. I also take issue with the voice the author used to tell the, ahem, story. It's supposed to be told from the perspective of a girl. Not sure the age, but young. The language and logic and formed thoughts and explanations were most definitely not those of a young girl, though. At least, not to me. But the biggest problem of the book was that I felt depressed reading it. It's a small book, I should have been able to read it in a day. It took me a week because I kept having to put it down, never wanting to pick it back up. I feel like the Norse people, or whoever came up with these myths, must have been a miserable people. And the modern day child must have been miserable. Even the one bright spot in the non-myth narrative was tempered by misery. I finished the book because I was determined to see it through to the end. I regret that decision.