A Comedy-Tragedy of Gods Giants Dwarfs & Monsters

Near the end of the only romantic happy ending story in Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology (2017), Gaiman makes a brilliantly ironic aside: "Their wedding was blessed, and some say their son, Fjolnir, went on to become the first king of Sweden. He would drown in a vat of mead late one night, hunting in the darkness for a place to piss."

In his introduction, Gaiman says that "I've tried my best to retell these myths and stories as accurately as I can, and as interestingly as I can. . . . I hope that they paint a picture of a world and a time" of "long winter nights" and "the unending daylight of midsummer," when people "wanted to know . . . what the rainbow was, and how to live their lives, and where bad poetry comes from." He achieves his aims.

Gaiman also explains what fascinated him as a boy about the myths: they are full of tragic heroes and villains "with their own doomsday: Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods, the end of it all." In both Norse and Greek mythologies the gods and goddesses are powerful, flawed beings who embody human traits or forces of nature and give appropriate justice or unexpected trouble, and who appear in stories that feature origins, metamorphoses, and ethical messages on hospitality, oath keeping, and the like. But in the Greek myths, the main gods and goddesses just keep going.

Gaiman first introduces the three main "players" of the myths: Odin ("highest and oldest of all the gods," the wise, far-seeing, "all-father"), Thor (the thunder god, son of Odin, strongest, simplest, and most violent of the gods), and Loki (blood-brother of Odin, the supreme trickster, father of monsters, maker of an interesting but unsafe world). He relates the creation of the nine worlds and gods and giants. And then he tells thirteen stories. (Though they should be read in sequence, each story can stand alone, for Gaiman repeats a few details when referring to something in a later story that he's already introduced in an earlier one.)

The first two tales ("Mimir's Head and Odin's Eye" and "The Treasures of the Gods") detail how Odin got extra wisdom and how Loki staged (and interfered with) a magical artifact competition between two teams of dwarves. Then follow an assortment of violent comedy fantasy stories like "The Master Builder" (a reckless bargain, an amazing builder, and some cross-species conception), "Freya's Unusual Wedding" (the theft of Thor's hammer and some comical cross-dressing), and "Hymir and Thor's Fishing Expedition" (an outrageous tall tale). Interspersed among those are an origin story "The Mead of the Poets" (war + spit + blood + honey + dwarves + sex + eagles = mead and bards), an ominous story "The Children of Loki" (the fates of Loki's monstrous kids), and a love story "The Story of Gerd and Frey" (even a god may fall in love with a giantess). Ending things are a tragedy ("The Death of Balder"), a punishment ("The Last Days of Loki"), and an apocalypse ("Ragnarok").

Before Norse Mythology, I read the beautifully illustrated D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths (1967) for children. I found that the humor, violence, imagination, pathos, and plots are essentially the same in both, but that Gaiman gives more emotional, psychological, and physical detail. For example, what the D'Aulaires write in one sentence ("The mead made the gnomes feel so grand that they recklessly killed an old jotun, and when his wife came looking for him, they slew her too"), Gaiman develops for pages. Gaiman adds to the myths his own vision and "joy and creation."

Gaiman writes more violence, scatology, and sex than the D'Aulaires do, as when he recounts Thor doing what he does best ("Methodically, enthusiastically, one after the next, Thor killed all the giants of the waste, until the earth ran black and red with their blood"), or Odin escaping as an eagle ("Odin blew some of the mead out of his behind, a splattery wet fart of foul-smelling mead right in Suttung's face, blinding the giant and throwing him off Odin's trail"), or Odin seducing a giantess (nude bodies and nuzzling). His renewal finale, when golden chess pieces representing the gods, Loki, and the giants are found lying scattered in the grass, is more numinous and less Christian than the D'Aulaires'. He also belongs to the contemporary villain revision trend, making Loki and some monsters (like his children Hel and Fenris) a little more understandable and sympathetic than do the D'Aulaires.

In dialogue Gaiman writes a few jarring modern idioms, like "The temperature was all over the place" and "What kind of woman do you think I am?" And he tends to overuse fairy tale superlatives (e.g., "the gods drink the finest ale there ever was or ever will be" vs. the original Poetic Edda's "And now the gods/drink good beer").

But his writing is wonderful. His style features rich Norsy alliteration and description, like "a murky mist that cloaked everything hung heavily." He writes apt and evocative similes, like "She laughed as loudly as a calving glacier." He's often funny, e.g., "He tossed them [a pair of nefarious dwarfs], still bound and soaking, into the bottom of the boat, where they wriggled uncomfortably, like a couple of bearded lobsters." He writes a terrifying apocalypse: "The misty sky will split apart with the sound of children screaming." He's a master of the neat parenthesis, like, "(that was Naglfar, the Death Ship, made from the untrimmed fingernails of the dead)."

Gaiman is in fine fettle reading his audiobook. His Loki, Thor, Fenris, giants, and ogre lord are great. His wit, enthusiasm, and pauses and emphases are engaging. When a pretty giantess says to Odin, "my father would get quite irritable if he thought that I was giving away his mead to every good looking stranger who penetrated this mountain fastness," Gaiman pauses archly after "penetrated" to make us expect "penetrated his daughter." He paints aural illustrations the equivalent of the D'Aulaires' wonderful pictures. Listening to Gaiman's audiobook was a pleasure.

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As good as it gets without the old texts

Neil Gaiman nails the old tales in this book. If you're looking for great stories, impressive mythical storyscapes and a good time stop here and spend some time with the Norse Myths. Dwarfs, fallen gods, heroes, Thor's hammer, loss, sorrow, triumphs - it's all there.

Love the Gaiman not only provides a forward where he explains his love of the Norse Myths, but that he narrates this one himself - his passion comes through in the telling. Also, as someone who has read direct translations of the original codex I'm pleased to report Gaiman stays true to the best records we have while updating the telling to be compatible with modern English - the old language can be very difficult to follow when translated literally. You'll thank Gaiman for bringing the language up to contemporary standards for you.

If you are interested for either educations purposes (i.e what are the real myths, not the pop culture versions of Thor, Odin or Loki) or for the love of some good stories you won't be disappointed.

316 people found this helpful

OF COURSE IT WAS LOKI, IT'S ALWAYS LOKI

IT SEATED MORE PEOPLE THAN THE MIND COULD HOLD
I am a big fan of fairy tales, mythologies, tall tells and fables. Just like reading the Arabian Nights, it is important to me to get an idea of what goes on in the minds of different cultures and histories. This is even more fun than most, because of Loki. He is a trickster and is always causing mischief. The stories, as a whole, have a beginning, a middle and an ending. There are also several comparison to the bible that could be made. Did you know that Odin, sacrificed himself to himself on a tree and he was pierced in the side? Ragnarok has several similarities to Revelations.

NO ONE WANTED TO DRINK THE MEAD COMING FROM ODIN'S ASS
I will admit that there were times in which my mind wondered, but all in all some of these stories are excellent, and as a whole shouldn't be missed.

Neil Gaiman
I have never been a huge NG fan. I have even wondered at his popularity. I am glad he took on this project and helped to make these stories understandable and entertaining to the modern age. His narration is top notch. He is good enough to read for other authors.

225 people found this helpful

I battled yard work, then drank & feasted in Valhalla!

This was true story telling. I wasn't studying, or researching, nor was I seeking a bedtime story. I was enriched! "Were you not entertained!?" YES, YES, I was entertained.

I had about... six hours of hard yard work to do (flood repair), shoveling mud and rock. But with this book, I battled the mud and rock and then drank and feasted in Valhalla!

It was the perfect length. I was fortunate enough to listen in one "sitting". The short stories were great pausing points for water breaks and lunch. They would be good for stopping points if you couldn't listen in one sitting.

N. Gaiman is a great narrator, OMGs, his Thor voice is excellent! If I hadn't been baTTling the rocks, mud and rain, I'd have been sitting by the fire, drinking a pint of ale, listening to Uncle Neil tell us all how Thor got his hammer. His voice is that familiar story teller in your head and heart.

Lastly, I'm terrible with names, really. About five mins in, I thought I'm gonna be lost with these lesser known Gods. But trust the author/narrator. You'll remember who you need to, when you need to.

I go now, in search of the Chess Board of the Gods... Etsy?

212 people found this helpful

Welcome to Valhalla

I didn't know much about Norse Mythology, aside from Marvel comics, so I decided this would be a good crash course. Suffice it to say, I got my money's worth. The stories collected in here are absolutely glorious. If you at all like mythology, you owe it to yourself to check out this volume.

As a bonus, Neil Gaiman is just as fantastic a narrator as he is writer. What more could you want? Beyond highly recommended!

190 people found this helpful

Fun Stories from a Master Storyteller

Norse Mythology. Neil Gaiman. A project he’s been working on for 7 years, narrated by Gaiman himself. This book made me weak in the knees. Neil really lives this stuff, and you can tell he has a passion for the subject matter.

As he points out in the prologue, myths are an oral tradition and the best thing about them is how they change and evolve with each telling. And so they do here as Gaiman gives these ancient cultural stories a divine sense of character, and voices the plethora of monsters, humans, gods, and giants exceptionally well.

I swear, the moment you start listening to these intricate and enchanting tales you won’t want to leave the world that Neil has so deliberately crafted to be relatable, visionary, and entertaining.

104 people found this helpful

I loved it but....

I really loved these stories, written and read by an expert story teller it was great! However, 6 hours?! I want more, I waited for so long and it's over so soon.

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From the lands of ice, snow, and fire

Would you listen to Norse Mythology again? Why?

Definitely. I read an advance copy of the book before hearing this, and I enjoy the experience of learning about a body of lore I had remained unfamiliar with for far too long in my life. Neil Gaiman is at ease with the corpus after many years of immersion, from his boyhood on.

What other book might you compare Norse Mythology to and why?

The retellings of myth by such as Robert Graves or Edith Hamilton for the Greeks, or the Celts by Frank Delaney or Marie Heaney. That is, they make the stories into our own diction, and they encourage as Gaiman does to relate them in turn to each other under the stars.

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending. Terrible and unfortunately relevant, in an era of melting icecaps and "sunny day flooding." Ragnorok is horrible, and the apocalyptic climax betters the stories in Revelation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but two or three are more likely as it's nearly seven hours. Neil Gaiman takes up a rather mid-Atlantic accent and the narrative pace is steady. It's appropriate for the effect.

Any additional comments?

Recommended for a family, as the stories teach us about trickery and truth, honesty and betrayal. Not sure if the pantheon are role models all, but it's instructive to consider gods and goddesses as if archetypes from one's culture, and less supernatural and apart from people. The name recognition Gaiman holds will surely find new audiences for these ancient quests.

76 people found this helpful

Enjoyable retelling of Norse myths

Neil Gaiman says he first encountered the Norse myths in the pages of Marvel Comics. I first encountered the Norse Myths in the pages of school textbooks. I later discovered livelier versions, and he later discovered more complete versions, truer to the original sources.

One important difference is that Gaiman is an excellent writer, and he became interested in researching the myths and presenting them to new generations in a form both true to the sources and engaging for modern readers.

Or, in this case, as is most appropriate for ancient myths, listeners.

In his introduction, he discusses what we do, and tantalizingly, what we don't know, about the Norse gods. We know Odin and Thor and Loki, the Norns and the giants, and others, but there are also gods for whom only and some bare details remain, with no surviving stories to retell.

Both his words and his reading of them breathe life into the stories we have. None of the Norse gods are simple and straightforward evocations of merely a few traits, nor are they what we'd consider fully rounded characters. They are, nevertheless, compelling, especially with Gaiman, an excellent oral storyteller as well as an excellent writer, reading his own retellings of their tales.

It's a very good few hours' listening.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

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If You Read Them Growing Up

I was introduced to Norse Myths when I checked out the only book of myths available to students in the school library when I was nine, mistaking the blue clothe bound volume for a compendium of Greek myths, as those where the only myths I knew to exist outside of those I knew in my own religions holy book. What I found changed the way I perceived story telling, and here, in this book, Neil Gaiman has collected nearly all of those myths into a single volume, only slightly edited for a contemporary audience. There is nothing new here, but it's the kind of storytelling one recalls from childhood which is not such a bad thing.

Get this book if you have a soft spot for the classic stories of monsters, heroes, and the kind of fantasy logic that can only exist in the mythology of the past, but maybe avoid it if you want another original Gaiman novel.

My one quibble, and it's a small one, is in Gaiman's interpretation of Dark Elves as Dwarves. This is a debated area for some scholars, and I have always felt this was a description of three separate peoples in the source material, even if Gaiman's opinion is the most commonly accepted.

46 people found this helpful