Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
⭐⭐⭐.6
Recommended for people interested in mythology, Scandinavian culture, Nordic culture, oral history, storytelling, anthropology, history, classics
Form ⭐⭐⭐
A disclaimer before I discuss form: I listened to this as an audiobook (only the second audiobook I’ve ever finished without switching to print, the other being The Count of Monte Cristo), so my consumption method as it were differs slightly from that of most people who’ve read this book (I assume). That said, I think an audiobook is a wonderful way to read these stories. They form some of the roots of oral storytelling, so if you’re being a purist, hearing them read aloud is the most feasible approximation of having them told to you from memory by your grandmother around a campfire. In terms of the actual structure of the book, it only gets 3/5 for Form because it was neither original nor life-changing. That has nothing to do with the quality of the stories, and I don’t know if there is a more creative form that would transmit the stories as well without sacrificing authenticity or historical validity. The stories were very well curated within their very bare structure; the tone flowed seamlessly from more comical stories at the beginning right up to the total destruction of Ragnarok at the end (spoilers!).
Style⭐⭐⭐⭐
I think one of the things Gaiman is most praised for is his style, which I wouldn’t know much about because I haven’t read any of his other books (though I definitely plan to). Needless to say, the writing style in Norse Mythology is wonderful. I’m not sure how much of that comes from his source material and how much of it is original paraphrasing (is that an oxymoron?), but either way, he spins it into a masterful balance of funny and serious that skillfully encapsulates what the mythology is trying to communicate.
Message⭐⭐⭐⭐
Speaking of what the mythology is trying to communicate… The messages of both the individual stories and their message as a whole were very elegantly discussed. The introduction of the book ends with Gaiman inviting you, the reader, to take these stories for yourself and share them with others. I might’ve taken this a bit too literally in incorporating the story of Kvasir and the mead of poetry into a class presentation on the evolution of performative literature, but I digress (should this be a performative literature review?). If the central question of literature is to discuss what it means to be human in conflict (which I know I, as a freshman in university, have very little role in determining), mythology probably has the best ratio of deliberate discussion : heavy-handedness. In other words, these myths ask this central question very intentionally, but still develop their characters and plot enough to avoid dreary philosophical rambling. For this reason, I’d recommend mythology to almost anyone, and especially this edition as an accessible and entertaining introduction.
J'aime donc je suis. 