mimirtells's review against another edition
2.0
Puanım 2/5 (%37/100)
Genel olarak fena değildi diyebilirim. İskandinav mitolojisine ilgili birisi olduğum için bitireyim de öyle karar vereyim diye düşündüm yoksa yarıda bırakabilirdim. İskandinav mitolojisine dair önceden kitap okuduysanız yani az çok bilginiz varsa çok beğeneceğinizi sanmıyorum çünkü anlatılan şeyler çok basit ve temel bilgiler (bu her zaman kötü bir şey değil tabi ki).
Kitap 2. Dünya Savaşı zamanı küçük bir kızın İskandinav mitolojisi üzerine kitap bulması ve kendi acı ve trajedi dolu gerçek hayattan uzaklaşmasını konu alıyor. Ansiklopedi gibi standart bir mitoloji kitabı yazmaktansa böyle hikaye içinde hikaye tarzı bir hikaye fikri aslında başta güzel. Fakat böyle olduğu için siz de olaylara ve karakterlere o kızın bakış açısından bakmak zorundasınız ve ben bu yüzden çok zevk almadım sevdiğim olayları bile okurken. Daha genç insanlar ve özellikle İskandinav mitolojisini yeni öğrenenler sevebilir fakat ben sıkıcı buldum. Neil Gaiman'ın İskandinav Mitolojisi kitabı çok çok daha başarılı diyebilirim.
Genel olarak fena değildi diyebilirim. İskandinav mitolojisine ilgili birisi olduğum için bitireyim de öyle karar vereyim diye düşündüm yoksa yarıda bırakabilirdim. İskandinav mitolojisine dair önceden kitap okuduysanız yani az çok bilginiz varsa çok beğeneceğinizi sanmıyorum çünkü anlatılan şeyler çok basit ve temel bilgiler (bu her zaman kötü bir şey değil tabi ki).
Kitap 2. Dünya Savaşı zamanı küçük bir kızın İskandinav mitolojisi üzerine kitap bulması ve kendi acı ve trajedi dolu gerçek hayattan uzaklaşmasını konu alıyor. Ansiklopedi gibi standart bir mitoloji kitabı yazmaktansa böyle hikaye içinde hikaye tarzı bir hikaye fikri aslında başta güzel. Fakat böyle olduğu için siz de olaylara ve karakterlere o kızın bakış açısından bakmak zorundasınız ve ben bu yüzden çok zevk almadım sevdiğim olayları bile okurken. Daha genç insanlar ve özellikle İskandinav mitolojisini yeni öğrenenler sevebilir fakat ben sıkıcı buldum. Neil Gaiman'ın İskandinav Mitolojisi kitabı çok çok daha başarılı diyebilirim.
anakinswife19'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
flijn's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful and haunting, this retelling of the end of the world of the Northern gods. Byatt combines a exquisite eye for detail with the mysterious detachment that goes with myths and gods.
Maybe I am prejudiced towards this because I share Byatt's experience of the early-childhood encounter with the Edda. Either way, it is stunning.
Maybe I am prejudiced towards this because I share Byatt's experience of the early-childhood encounter with the Edda. Either way, it is stunning.
lychling's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nellsmith's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I’m always up for a myth retelling, but this felt a little flat and I wasn’t fully immersed in the myth world.
veronikarih's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
5.0
soleadohmbt's review against another edition
3.0
I love Byatt. Her novel Possession is among my favorites. I also love and have both studied and taught mythology (including Norse and Germanic) for decades. I was prepared to be enraptured by Byatt’s telling. I was not. I was bored. I read to get to the end. Not because I know the myths. I wanted to be done with THIS telling. I feel terrible saying it, but there is no life and no energy in this telling of the story.
celestihel's review against another edition
2.0
There were a number of barriers to enjoyment for me reading this book. I was just glad it was so short, otherwise I would have quit.
First, this is the 15th in the Canongate Myths series (http://www.themyths.co.uk/) and it was only three stories ago that they covered a Norse myth. I love the Myths series, but not spacing these two stories out more was a big oversight, especially since the other story was so much better. I mean light years, so having them close like this made the superiority of the other story just that much more obvious.
Second, there is such a thing as too much description. This book is about 50% or more full of lists. If the author is describing sea creatures, it would be in a list-style sometimes over a page long. Long enough that it would be distracting. Long enough that you would lose your place in the story. I found toward the end I was skipping through the lists just so I could keep a sense of continuity.
Third, the transition from the myth to the story about the thin child was disjointed. Even more, both story lines were further fractured by the lessons about the story origins and the using of different naming conventions (yes, I read the explanation about not sticking with one spelling for things, I just don't happen to agree). At no point could you just settle in and let your imagination take off.
Finally, there is an essay at the end about why the author chose the story which felt really out of place. It was at turns a lesson on the difference between myth and fairy tales, a personal essay about the author's relationship to the story, and a diatribe about humans forcing themselves into extinction. It was a disjointed essay tacked on to a disjointed story.
Prior to this I have only disliked one other book in the Myths series, so I still think they're batting average is pretty high! But, if I were just getting into the series, I wouldn't start here. I might even skip it altogether.
First, this is the 15th in the Canongate Myths series (http://www.themyths.co.uk/) and it was only three stories ago that they covered a Norse myth. I love the Myths series, but not spacing these two stories out more was a big oversight, especially since the other story was so much better. I mean light years, so having them close like this made the superiority of the other story just that much more obvious.
Second, there is such a thing as too much description. This book is about 50% or more full of lists. If the author is describing sea creatures, it would be in a list-style sometimes over a page long. Long enough that it would be distracting. Long enough that you would lose your place in the story. I found toward the end I was skipping through the lists just so I could keep a sense of continuity.
Third, the transition from the myth to the story about the thin child was disjointed. Even more, both story lines were further fractured by the lessons about the story origins and the using of different naming conventions (yes, I read the explanation about not sticking with one spelling for things, I just don't happen to agree). At no point could you just settle in and let your imagination take off.
Finally, there is an essay at the end about why the author chose the story which felt really out of place. It was at turns a lesson on the difference between myth and fairy tales, a personal essay about the author's relationship to the story, and a diatribe about humans forcing themselves into extinction. It was a disjointed essay tacked on to a disjointed story.
Prior to this I have only disliked one other book in the Myths series, so I still think they're batting average is pretty high! But, if I were just getting into the series, I wouldn't start here. I might even skip it altogether.
snowmaiden's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book much less than I expected to. There are some wonderfully lyrical descriptive passages, but they tend to go on for so long that they become numbing. Byatt is in full infodump mode here, and so it was hard for me to become engaged in the story. One section that did sweep me up is the story of Jormungandr and her life under the sea. I remember that I especially liked the sections of [b: Possession|41219|Possession|A.S. Byatt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1391124124s/41219.jpg|2246190] that were set at the seaside. I think Byatt has a special affinity for aquatic life and it comes out in her writing.
A good point of this book is that it was short. I finished it in two hours, even with frequent breaks. And yet I think it might have been more interesting if it was longer and more fleshed out. As with the end of [b: The Children's Book|6280379|The Children's Book|A.S. Byatt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320548114s/6280379.jpg|5768221], I sometimes had the feeling that I was reading Byatt's research notes for a more interesting book.
A good point of this book is that it was short. I finished it in two hours, even with frequent breaks. And yet I think it might have been more interesting if it was longer and more fleshed out. As with the end of [b: The Children's Book|6280379|The Children's Book|A.S. Byatt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320548114s/6280379.jpg|5768221], I sometimes had the feeling that I was reading Byatt's research notes for a more interesting book.