Friday, 29 December 2017 08:49 pm
Book Review: Norse Mythology
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deckardcanineBefore I say anything else, I must point to the author: Neil Gaiman. Sure, he didn't devise the myths, but neither did Shakespeare devise the legend of Hamlet, and we still call him the author of the play. In the same vein, Gaiman is no mere translator; his aim is to infuse ancient tales with new life. The edition came out this year, perhaps in anticipation of the success of Thor: Ragnarok.
The introduction indicates that the American Gods novelist first took interest in Norse mythology the way many men of the last half-century have: via Thor comics. He reports that the comics differ markedly from the myths, but I came to be rather struck by how little they differ. The main departures that I noticed were Thor's personality (originally a bloodthirsty ditz, bringing to mind "When all you have is a hammer..."), Loki's relation to Odin (originally a blood-brother, not an adopted son), the goddess of death (originally neutral Hel, not villainous Hela), and the precise details of Ragnarok. Otherwise, Marvel seemed to have done its research, and I can appreciate its latest movie all the more for that.
Gaiman also laments that not nearly as many Norse myths as Greco-Roman myths have survived. This is most obvious with certain gods who pop up rarely and for no obvious reason. Nevertheless, Gaiman's telling, at least, weaves a pretty tight tapestry; everything appears to be in a necessary chronological order.
In contrast to the typically anthropocentric Greek lore, what we have here rarely mentions anyone who isn't a god, a giant, a dwarf, an elf, a troll, or some kind of monster. It's possible that the lost myths involved humans more, but if not, I have an idea why: The Norse gods are barely more than human. They have powers, yes, but almost the same vulnerabilities as we have (it didn't take anything extraordinary to leave Odin with one eye). They even grow old if they don't eat special golden apples periodically. Perhaps the key difference is that dead gods don't stay dead forever. Just...pretty long.
It's no surprise that the morals of even the nobler gods leave something to be desired among modern readers. On the whole, they may behave better than the Olympians (I sure prefer this depiction of Odin to Mr. Wednesday), but they don't mind cheating those whom they don't like. Furthermore, their sense of justice doesn't distinguish act from intent; a clearly accidental killer is deemed a murderer and executed. And anyone who dies outside of battle is said to have died dishonorably and doesn't get to go to Valhalla. I suspect that these tenets explain viking ruthlessness.
In such an environment, I see how Loki became a fan favorite. The trickster god prides himself on cleverness, but most of the time, it comes back to bite him. And half the time, the gods ultimately benefit from his actions, which is why they usually let him stick around. Only toward the end does he do something really hard for characters and readers to forgive, and it initially feels out of character, tho I came up with some mitigating factors if not justification. After that, there can be no love lost between him and the other gods.
Gaiman gets off to a slow start, partly because of the basic setup and partly because he uses a few awkward turns of phrase, as if translating. By the fifth chapter, that's all out of the way, and the only gawkiness is the occasional statement or repetition of what we already know. Where Gaiman really shines is in the dialog, which frequently gets amusing. Even when nothing's funny, what better way to pepper a story with details? I recall reading once before about the death of Balder, and that was your typical dry myth summary; now it packs an emotional punch.
If you ever pick up this book and don't care to read all of it, I particularly recommend "The Treasures of the Gods" (I don't know which treasure is most enviable) and "The Master Builder" (strange how they don't name the builder but do name his horse), both of which I kept retelling to myself. If you want more, add "Freya's Unusual Wedding," "Thor's Journey to the Land of the Giants," and "Hymir and Thor's Fishing Expedition." The rest are OK at worst.
Now I've started on a long-awaited Christmas present: First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith. The old copy is small but has a lot of words per page, and it's shaping up to be more challenging than I expected.
The introduction indicates that the American Gods novelist first took interest in Norse mythology the way many men of the last half-century have: via Thor comics. He reports that the comics differ markedly from the myths, but I came to be rather struck by how little they differ. The main departures that I noticed were Thor's personality (originally a bloodthirsty ditz, bringing to mind "When all you have is a hammer..."), Loki's relation to Odin (originally a blood-brother, not an adopted son), the goddess of death (originally neutral Hel, not villainous Hela), and the precise details of Ragnarok. Otherwise, Marvel seemed to have done its research, and I can appreciate its latest movie all the more for that.
Gaiman also laments that not nearly as many Norse myths as Greco-Roman myths have survived. This is most obvious with certain gods who pop up rarely and for no obvious reason. Nevertheless, Gaiman's telling, at least, weaves a pretty tight tapestry; everything appears to be in a necessary chronological order.
In contrast to the typically anthropocentric Greek lore, what we have here rarely mentions anyone who isn't a god, a giant, a dwarf, an elf, a troll, or some kind of monster. It's possible that the lost myths involved humans more, but if not, I have an idea why: The Norse gods are barely more than human. They have powers, yes, but almost the same vulnerabilities as we have (it didn't take anything extraordinary to leave Odin with one eye). They even grow old if they don't eat special golden apples periodically. Perhaps the key difference is that dead gods don't stay dead forever. Just...pretty long.
It's no surprise that the morals of even the nobler gods leave something to be desired among modern readers. On the whole, they may behave better than the Olympians (I sure prefer this depiction of Odin to Mr. Wednesday), but they don't mind cheating those whom they don't like. Furthermore, their sense of justice doesn't distinguish act from intent; a clearly accidental killer is deemed a murderer and executed. And anyone who dies outside of battle is said to have died dishonorably and doesn't get to go to Valhalla. I suspect that these tenets explain viking ruthlessness.
In such an environment, I see how Loki became a fan favorite. The trickster god prides himself on cleverness, but most of the time, it comes back to bite him. And half the time, the gods ultimately benefit from his actions, which is why they usually let him stick around. Only toward the end does he do something really hard for characters and readers to forgive, and it initially feels out of character, tho I came up with some mitigating factors if not justification. After that, there can be no love lost between him and the other gods.
Gaiman gets off to a slow start, partly because of the basic setup and partly because he uses a few awkward turns of phrase, as if translating. By the fifth chapter, that's all out of the way, and the only gawkiness is the occasional statement or repetition of what we already know. Where Gaiman really shines is in the dialog, which frequently gets amusing. Even when nothing's funny, what better way to pepper a story with details? I recall reading once before about the death of Balder, and that was your typical dry myth summary; now it packs an emotional punch.
If you ever pick up this book and don't care to read all of it, I particularly recommend "The Treasures of the Gods" (I don't know which treasure is most enviable) and "The Master Builder" (strange how they don't name the builder but do name his horse), both of which I kept retelling to myself. If you want more, add "Freya's Unusual Wedding," "Thor's Journey to the Land of the Giants," and "Hymir and Thor's Fishing Expedition." The rest are OK at worst.
Now I've started on a long-awaited Christmas present: First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith. The old copy is small but has a lot of words per page, and it's shaping up to be more challenging than I expected.