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kvbixal's review
4.0
I had only a sketchy understanding of Norse mythology before beginning this book -- somewhat complicated by having watched a few Marvel movies, where quite a bit of artistic licence was taken with the source material -- and it was nice to be able to fill in the gaps and see how each myth and character was connected to one another. The book opens with a brief, mingled description of the world's creation, and Ragnarök, the Twilight of the Gods; then rewinds to tell us what happened in the intervening period: all the mistakes and misunderstandings that led, ultimately, from one to the other.
As others have commented, the chronology is muddled; while for the most part Colum has stuck to a fairly straightforward "this happened, then that", he occasionally jumps around in the timeline and it can be difficult to work out which event occurred first. Sometimes he references characters as if we ought to know who they are, but only in later chapters introduces them.
That aside, I found it a rich and engaging account of the Norse pantheon; their passions, foibles, adventures, and mishaps; and how they brought both misery and salvation to the world.
(Side note: apart from the creation bits, it really ought to be called The Adventures of Loki -- "the doer of good and the doer of evil" -- because so much of it occurs due to his behaviour ... and misbehaviour. A good half of the book is basically "here's how we fixed what Loki did". But I found him, strangely, the most human and relatable of all the gods. For all his capriciousness and apparent inability to resist any chance at mischief, he alone took the gods to task for their foolishness and hypocrisy -- not that said reproach was appreciated. When is it ever?)
This was 'read' as an audiobook, courtesy of LibriVox, and I'd recommend listening to it; Colum's storytelling feels as if it were made to be spoken, rather than read.
As others have commented, the chronology is muddled; while for the most part Colum has stuck to a fairly straightforward "this happened, then that", he occasionally jumps around in the timeline and it can be difficult to work out which event occurred first. Sometimes he references characters as if we ought to know who they are, but only in later chapters introduces them.
That aside, I found it a rich and engaging account of the Norse pantheon; their passions, foibles, adventures, and mishaps; and how they brought both misery and salvation to the world.
(Side note: apart from the creation bits, it really ought to be called The Adventures of Loki -- "the doer of good and the doer of evil" -- because so much of it occurs due to his behaviour ... and misbehaviour. A good half of the book is basically "here's how we fixed what Loki did". But I found him, strangely, the most human and relatable of all the gods. For all his capriciousness and apparent inability to resist any chance at mischief, he alone took the gods to task for their foolishness and hypocrisy -- not that said reproach was appreciated. When is it ever?)
This was 'read' as an audiobook, courtesy of LibriVox, and I'd recommend listening to it; Colum's storytelling feels as if it were made to be spoken, rather than read.
justlily's review
4.0
I've always really enjoyed mythology but Greek was sort of my wheelhouse. I never ventured much into Norse mythology before this but I'm really glad I did now. Beautifully told, easy to follow. Definitely glad I picked this one up.
shelley_c's review
3.0
We listened to the audio version on Librivox. The first half was a lot more engaging and then we got a bit lost. Probably would have worked better with the book to keep track of all the characters.
eric_conrad's review
4.0
I bought this book over thirty years ago at a book fair. This book was my first encounter with the Norse gods and their stories. Reading about Odin, Loki and Thor made me happy then and it still makes me happy today.
Part two with Odin wandering in disguise is probably my favorite section of the book. Odin on his quest for knowledge feels timeless to me. It melds well with my appreciation of Joseph Campbell and his hero with a thousand faces.
Part four with its focus on the Volsungs feels very disconnected from the rest of the book. I understand that Sigurd is a descendant of Odin, but the overall tone of the chapters is different than the preceding chapters.
Part two with Odin wandering in disguise is probably my favorite section of the book. Odin on his quest for knowledge feels timeless to me. It melds well with my appreciation of Joseph Campbell and his hero with a thousand faces.
Part four with its focus on the Volsungs feels very disconnected from the rest of the book. I understand that Sigurd is a descendant of Odin, but the overall tone of the chapters is different than the preceding chapters.
chevalierene's review
4.0
I really enjoyed learning about the Norse Mythology and this was a great book that was written in a way that was easy to understand, much in the style of fairy tales. Towards the end it seemed to drag up until The Twilight of the Gods.
yetilibrary's review
5.0
Easy-to-read book of Northern European mythology. I enjoyed it, and the more mythology I've read, the more I've come to appreciate how much this book covered!