Scan barcode
A review by laurenjpegler
The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings by Kevin Crossley-Holland
2.0
Original Rating: 2.5 stars.
Norse mythology (you know, Odin, Thor & Loki) has interested me for a while now. But I've recently been watching History Channel's Vikings and my interest has peaked. Listening to them talk of such stories had me searching for a book on their myths. I came across this one; it's highly praised, so I ordered it immediately. Now, my average rating has nothing to do with Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling of the myths; I actually think he was really good at capturing them. It's more about the myths themselves.
To break that down for you: I enjoyed the first few myths (up until about page 80), but, after that, I kind of lost interest in the stories until the very end one. To begin with, I appreciated their eccentricity and complete lack of sense, but I grew bored of it very quickly. It's so weird to think this belief was once held in such high esteem; that people looked towards such unjust and uncivil gods (when I said that, I mean murderers, sadists and incestuous gods). However, at the same time, this is really fascinating to me. It's a weird one. But, yeah, I grew bored of the random nature of the stories, and how they often made no sense at all.
Despite this, I did enjoy some of the myths. I particularly enjoyed 'The Creation' and 'Ragnarok'. They were so unusual, yet so fun to read. The former story was so brutal and discomforting to read, especially as I am so familiar with the Christian's belief on creation. However, it was truly interesting to see how Vikings believed the world was created, and how everything contained within this was created. I liked the idea that a giant crow sits at the end of the Earth, and when he blows it creates wind. As I said, it was unusual. Moreover, the latter story was utter mayhem and chaotic, but it was really fun to read. It was also fun to imagine (and I'm glad I don't believe in this otherwise I would be so terrified of Ragnarok actually happening to focus on anything meaningful).
Other than that, my only criticism is the potential Crossley-Holland had with the stories. I know he was re-telling the ancient poetry, and so probably wanted to stick as close to that as possible, but there was definitely room for him to explore more. He could have painted the stories so much more vibrant and fun instead of describing them so dull and plain. He could have made them more engaging and not taken away from their authenticity.
Anyway, I'm glad I read this. I now know more about norse mythology, so whenever I'm watching Vikings or Thor (even though Marvel's Thor is completely different to 'Prose Edda' Thor) I can appreciate what they're saying.
Norse mythology (you know, Odin, Thor & Loki) has interested me for a while now. But I've recently been watching History Channel's Vikings and my interest has peaked. Listening to them talk of such stories had me searching for a book on their myths. I came across this one; it's highly praised, so I ordered it immediately. Now, my average rating has nothing to do with Kevin Crossley-Holland's retelling of the myths; I actually think he was really good at capturing them. It's more about the myths themselves.
To break that down for you: I enjoyed the first few myths (up until about page 80), but, after that, I kind of lost interest in the stories until the very end one. To begin with, I appreciated their eccentricity and complete lack of sense, but I grew bored of it very quickly. It's so weird to think this belief was once held in such high esteem; that people looked towards such unjust and uncivil gods (when I said that, I mean murderers, sadists and incestuous gods). However, at the same time, this is really fascinating to me. It's a weird one. But, yeah, I grew bored of the random nature of the stories, and how they often made no sense at all.
Despite this, I did enjoy some of the myths. I particularly enjoyed 'The Creation' and 'Ragnarok'. They were so unusual, yet so fun to read. The former story was so brutal and discomforting to read, especially as I am so familiar with the Christian's belief on creation. However, it was truly interesting to see how Vikings believed the world was created, and how everything contained within this was created. I liked the idea that a giant crow sits at the end of the Earth, and when he blows it creates wind. As I said, it was unusual. Moreover, the latter story was utter mayhem and chaotic, but it was really fun to read. It was also fun to imagine (and I'm glad I don't believe in this otherwise I would be so terrified of Ragnarok actually happening to focus on anything meaningful).
Other than that, my only criticism is the potential Crossley-Holland had with the stories. I know he was re-telling the ancient poetry, and so probably wanted to stick as close to that as possible, but there was definitely room for him to explore more. He could have painted the stories so much more vibrant and fun instead of describing them so dull and plain. He could have made them more engaging and not taken away from their authenticity.
Anyway, I'm glad I read this. I now know more about norse mythology, so whenever I'm watching Vikings or Thor (even though Marvel's Thor is completely different to 'Prose Edda' Thor) I can appreciate what they're saying.