Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman has his fans, and they are passionate. I’ve enjoyed a book or two of his, myself. But when Norse Mythology came out in 2017, it felt like the Gaiman fans turned out in droves to read (what looked to me) an opportunistic money grab by the famous author. Thor: Ragnarok, the second—and best—of the Marvel Thor trilogy came out that year and was a huge blockbuster. What better time to publish a book that featured Thor’s hammer, the implacable Mjolnir, on its cover, and offered to provide all the background on the gods of Asgard, their adventures, and origins?
So I skipped it, though a part of me remained curious. I have Edith Hamilton’s Mythology on my shelves and, while interesting, it doesn’t lend itself to reading straight through. In my mind, I assumed that Gaiman’s version of the Norse was every bit as dry. It was an assumption entirely without basis, which I would not discover until I found myself on a short road trip with no audiobooks loaded into my phone, and nothing available on Libby.
Nothing except for Norse Mythology, which my wife had already reserved on her account. Ever since I borrowed her account a few years ago to listen to a book she had out, I’ve had access to her reservations. And so, perhaps fortuitously, I had a book to listen to and one that wouldn’t be terrible, even if it wasn’t my first choice. Instead, I would find myself so engrossed that within a few hours, I would speed through a tiny country town, breaking the speed limit by over 20 miles per hour, and cruise on oblivious while a state highway patrolman followed me with lights flashing for several minutes. But more on that later.
The main point is: Norse Mythology was fun. Anything but academic and dry, Gaiman tells the stories like they might tell around a campfire, to children at bedtime, or under a sky full of stars as wolves howl in the distance. It is almost casual, but really anything but, and the cosmology of the Norse comes alive (and yes, I know that sounds cliche) as Odin, the Allfather, gives up his own eye for wisdom, as Thor fights and kills frost giants who threaten to dominate Asgard, as Loki—Odin’s brother, I think, not son—teases and tricks his fellow gods, and on and on until the very last day when the gods fight the final battle at Ragnarok, and the world burns.
It was somewhere in here, probably the story about Thor and Loki tricking some frost giants into letting them have their cauldron so that they can brew enough mead for all the gods when I looked up to see red and blue flashing lights. I had been transported to Norway, or Sweden, or someplace near where northern lights were as standard as not, and had forgotten my drive across a desert landscape in rural Utah. The officer was kind and patient as I apologized (perhaps too profusely) and explained that I had been so thoroughly engrossed in a book that I had lost track of my speed (and yes, I recognize that this may have been my dumbest excuse for speeding, ever, but it had the advantage of being 100% true). I handed over my license and registration and sat for a solid five minutes while he ran me through the system, though I suspected he was just waiting to make me squirm. When he returned, the officer delivered a two-line lecture about speeding through small towns, handed me my “participation award,” and told me he was letting me off with a warning.
And then he asked what I was reading, which I was more than glad to recommend, both to him and to you. Because while Neil Gaiman has his fans, it’s for good reason: he can tell a story.
Short Review: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Mythology
W. W. Norton & Company
February 7, 2017
Audio
304
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