A review by laurenjpegler
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
5.0
Well, this was a pleasant surprise.
Initially, I read Kevin Crossley-Holland’s version of the Norse myths (titled The Penguin Book of Norse Myth: the Viking Gods, or something of the kind). I didn’t enjoy that. I felt like he did utilise the freedom of a re-telling. The stories were just thrown together, without any connections. However, Neil Gaiman managed to connect them all. Although they weren’t necessarily related, he would make references to other stories to show how much of an impact that event had, and so on.
This collection was made up of less re-tellings (the other had roughly 32, but this one had 16, I think). Despite it being less, the amount of detail and imagery Gaiman incorporated into the stories fleshed them out and made them enjoyable. I couldn’t get enough, and I devoured this in basically one day. I felt like the characters had their own personality; Gaiman stuck to the authentic portrayals of these characters, but also added a little something extra. I really liked Thor’s and Loki’s depiction in this collection.
This lacked the ridiculous nature that made me dislike the other collection so bad. Granted, the stories are utterly bizarre, but Gaiman managed to tame them, and make them seem also possible. Like, I don’t know. It was magical and whimsical, totally unrealistic, but I could get on board with the stories because they were brought down a level. The other collection made me question how someone could believe in these, but this one sells them to me completely.
As always, I loved the beginning story. It’s so interesting to see how Vikings, and other believers, thought this was how the world was created. The story is intricate, and Gaiman describes it so beautifully. Equally, I love Ragnörak. Such a brilliant story; so intense and dark. It’s chaotic, yet semi-beautiful. I would definitely recommend reading this story in particular if you’re wanting a taster of the Norse mythology. Then again, I would recommend this whole book!
Initially, I read Kevin Crossley-Holland’s version of the Norse myths (titled The Penguin Book of Norse Myth: the Viking Gods, or something of the kind). I didn’t enjoy that. I felt like he did utilise the freedom of a re-telling. The stories were just thrown together, without any connections. However, Neil Gaiman managed to connect them all. Although they weren’t necessarily related, he would make references to other stories to show how much of an impact that event had, and so on.
This collection was made up of less re-tellings (the other had roughly 32, but this one had 16, I think). Despite it being less, the amount of detail and imagery Gaiman incorporated into the stories fleshed them out and made them enjoyable. I couldn’t get enough, and I devoured this in basically one day. I felt like the characters had their own personality; Gaiman stuck to the authentic portrayals of these characters, but also added a little something extra. I really liked Thor’s and Loki’s depiction in this collection.
This lacked the ridiculous nature that made me dislike the other collection so bad. Granted, the stories are utterly bizarre, but Gaiman managed to tame them, and make them seem also possible. Like, I don’t know. It was magical and whimsical, totally unrealistic, but I could get on board with the stories because they were brought down a level. The other collection made me question how someone could believe in these, but this one sells them to me completely.
As always, I loved the beginning story. It’s so interesting to see how Vikings, and other believers, thought this was how the world was created. The story is intricate, and Gaiman describes it so beautifully. Equally, I love Ragnörak. Such a brilliant story; so intense and dark. It’s chaotic, yet semi-beautiful. I would definitely recommend reading this story in particular if you’re wanting a taster of the Norse mythology. Then again, I would recommend this whole book!