Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman is Gaiman’s retelling of various Norse myths. Through Gaiman’s eyes we see Thor, Odin and Loki as we have never seen them before. In manageable snip-its we read narratives about famous and more obscure Norse myths. We see the frost giants, the construction of Asgard’s un-breachable wall, Loki’s mischief and Thor’s unquenchable thirst.
Gaiman stays true to the original myths, while creating characters that readers of fiction will enjoy reading about. This story starts at the beginning–the beginning of the world, of life as we know it–and it comes full circle with the end of all things and it’s rebirth anew. Norse Mythology is the story of the Norse gods, where they came from and where they went.
This is a book of mythology for those who don’t really like mythology or more historical type texts. Even though the book feels like a basic mythological text with it’s use of language and theme, it is also very readable and has a narrative readers of fiction can easily follow. I always like a good book that is teaching me things without making me feel like I am studying a text book. By the time I finished reading this book, I felt like I knew a basic history of Norse mythology.
That being said, this is a book to read in snip-its like I said above. Any time I tried to read more than a few chapters at night, which I often do, I found I fell asleep. This would be a great book to take with you when you are out and about and you have a few minute to kill here or there. I found I got most of this book read during my lunch breaks.
I will say though, this book really shows just want Gaiman can do. He is such a diverse writer–children’s books, fiction, non-fiction and now this. Amazing.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this book. Was it one I would go to first in a pile of to-be-read, probably not. But I think it is a great book to throw in your bag for a little light, informative reading. This one gets a high 3.5 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-