Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

This would be a cool book to own. In hardback, of course.

We have wanted to listen to this one since it came out. It was, however, quite popular, and we had to wait for that to die down before we could listen to it. It was worth the wait.

At the outset, it is good to set proper expectations. This is not a complete book of Norse myths. It is not poetry. It is not scholarly. It is not particularly adult oriented. Rather, it is an elegant, spare, focused, retelling of the most important myths, at the level of a late elementary school reader. If you look at it that way, it is a fine work.

This isn’t my first exposure to Norse mythology. I own and have read the entire three volumes of Thomas Bulfinch’s Mythology, which devotes a couple of chapters to those myths. This book is still my go-to reference for Western mythology. I know I have read more detailed accounts of at least some of the myths elsewhere. And, of course, there is Wagner. I have a beloved 1895 first edition of H. A. Guerber’s Stories of the Wagner Opera, which has been a great resource. The Norse myths are also a part of our culture, and part of our storytelling - even our days of the week. Both Tolkien and C. S. Lewis drew heavily on the myths at various times in their writing, as did many authors since that time. And now, of course, they have been resurrected for comic book and movie franchises.

So these stories are familiar...but not entirely. Many of us know Odin (Wotan), Thor, Loki, and Freya. Some of us also think of Frey, and Frigg, and Baldur; Heimdall, Hel, and Fenrir. And then the giants, both mountain and frost. And the “midgard” or “middle earth” residents such as dwarves, humans, and elves.

As I noted, Gaiman selects the best known - and most complete - stories. In his delightful introduction, he mentions a number of story threads which are incomplete, characters whose back stories are alluded to, and so on - but their stories have been lost somewhere in antiquity. There is no doubt that Gaiman loves the myths: these are truly loving retellings.

Adding to the experience is Gaiman reading his own stories. Seriously, he is so good at his reading. I think this is one reason he ended up as kind of a literary superstar. It is definitely worth seeking out his audiobooks for this reason alone.

My kids greatly enjoyed the book. In particular, any scene when Thor eats to excess was popular. The favorite had to be Thor in drag, pretending to be Freya so he can kill the giant who stole his hammer.

Also funny, of course, is just how much of a lunk Thor is, and how too-clever-by-half-for-his-own-good the ever-scheming Loki is. After all, he is the source of most of the problems for the gods; and also the only guy who can get them out of those problems. I have joked before that Loki is the God of Lawyers. I’m only half joking. He was the master of the loophole centuries before we switched to Due Process as a replacement for Trial By Battle. Thor may be the brawn behind the law, but Loki is the one who gives Thor’s hammer its legal cover.

And then there is poor Freya. Cursed with beauty, she is constantly desired by giants and ogres. And, of course, because she inhabits a patriarchal and sexist Aasgard, Thor and Loki (and the rest) are more than willing to use her as a bargaining chip. One wonders if the poets who first told the tales realized that she seems smarter than the gods combined, and that the deities would be far better off if they let her run things? It seems possible. Poets have tended to both support and subvert the established order.

I was also intrigued by the dichotomy of gods and goddesses, and the giants. They are actually fairly evenly matched in many cases. Sure, Thor and his hammer are pretty badass. But the doofus keeps losing it. And without their magic apples and magic castle, the gods can be a bit helpless. More often than not, it seems that the main advantage the gods have over the giants is that they are just a little bit smarter. They can plan and not just react. Which is why it takes Loki to end the world.

When it comes to ancient stories, there is no one right way to tell them. Myths live because we retell - and reinvent - them. For someone who grew up reading the Fitzgerald translations of Homer, there are times that Gaiman’s prose seems less, well, epic and poetic than it could be. It isn’t Seamus Heaney’s Beowulf or Robert Pinsky’s Inferno. But Gaiman is a skilled storyteller, and his prose flows beautifully in its own way. It is perfect for kids, honestly, and an adult can appreciate its simple beauty. Perhaps, as Sibelius said about his own music, others may offer exotic cocktails, but he serves cold, clear water.

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Yes, I have read or listened to a lot of Neil Gaiman lately. My second daughter is a huge fan, and I try to read stuff she is interested in too. Here is the list of other Gaiman stuff we have read over the past few years:

Coraline

Fragile Things

Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett)

The Graveyard Book

M is for Magic

Neverwhere

Odd And The Frost Giants

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This post definitely calls for some Wagner. We can certainly quibble with the fact that Wagner really means Asgard, not Valhalla, but the music is still fantastic.

Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

This is a relatively short children’s book - about two hours on audiobook. As such, it relates a single incident, and packs a lot into a short space. Neil Gaiman wrote this book for World Book Day, and fits elements of the Norse myths into the story.

To summarize it, those hapless gods, Odin and Thor, hire a Frost Giant to build a wall around Asgard for them. As usual, the fee is exorbitant, and includes poor Freya, who always seems to be a required throw-in in these deals, being the most beautiful woman and all. Odin gets cold feet, Thor gets Loki to cheat the Frost Giant, Thor kills the Frost Giant, and a grudge match inevitably results. (If this reminds you at all of Das Rheingold, you are not imagining things.)

So, the brother of the deceased Frost Giant tricks Loki into giving him Thor’s hammer, thus taking control of Asgard. Loki, Thor, and Odin are exiled to the realm of the mortals in the form of a fox, bear, and eagle, respectively. It is at this point in the story that Odd, a crippled Viking boy, finds them. As Thor has gotten stuck by a tree, Odd takes pity and rescues him, eventually discovering their identities and setting off on a quest to reclaim Asgard.

Odd is a typical Gaiman hero: quiet, socially outcast, introverted, and without friends of the mortal variety. But he is thoughtful, and fearless because he has already faced his own worst case scenario. What is death after what he has been through? It is easy to see a relationship to Bod in The Graveyard Book. Even the name has some resemblance.

The story itself unfolds precisely as one would expect. That’s the comforting thing about myth, of course. The stories are often the same story, told differently. (After reading The Hero With A Thousand Faces, I can see the Monomyth elements easily in so many tales.) We already know that Odd is going to figure out some way of saving the day, and it will come via brains rather than brawn. (To quote The Sword and the Stone’s Merlin…) 

 Illustration by Brett Helquist

Without revealing exactly what happens, I do wish to comment on Gaiman’s conception of “magic.” In the legendary retelling of this story by Thor, it is clear that it will be “magic” that Odd uses. But it obviously isn’t in the classic sense. As Odd muses, his “magic” just consists in giving people permission to do what their better selves really want to do. This means giving up pride, “honor,” and toxic masculinity. It means making a rational decision about what is best even though one might lose face. But Odd also offers a way to save face to the Frost Giant. And that is the magic.

I find this fascinating, because a certain portion of my legal practice consists in exactly this. Bringing a case to a reasonable settlement really tends to involve those two things. Enabling people to take the sensible compromise, by helping them put aside wounded pride and the desire to “win.” And to make a proper show to the other side to help one’s client feel that they haven’t been “beaten.” As many a wise attorney will tell you, the very best settlements make each side feel they won, but these are very rare. If this kind of settlement were to happen, it would have before the sides lawyered up. The next best settlement is one both sides dislike equally. And in divorce cases, this is the most common result when the attorneys have done their jobs. This is the settlement that Odd negotiates. Enough to save face, while helping the Frost Giant to release what he really neither wants nor enjoys.

It’s kind of ironic that poor Loki, much maligned god, who is really the patron god of lawyers, isn’t the one to resolve the issue. But Odd himself takes that role as the advocate who brings the best kind of resolution.

Over the last year and a half, my kids have really taken to Neil Gaiman, and are a bit disappointed that we have nearly exhausted his kid-level books. They are macabre, thoughtful, and engrossing. This one is a worthy book, more short story than novel, and a good introduction both Gaiman and the Norse myths. 

As with all Gaiman books, this one should be read by the author. Fortunately, our audiobook was.

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A number of years ago, the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra did a concert contrasting the two greatest opera composers of the late 19th Century, Verdi and Wagner. One of the selections we performed was the final scene in Das Rheingold, the entrance of the gods into Valhalla (Asgard). Many of the ideas found in Odd And The Frost Giants are in this scene, from Wotan (Odin) and his single eye, the Rainbow Bridge, and Loge (Loki) with his wounded pride.

I still have nightmares about the endless pages of arpeggios from playing this -  The horns had fun, I’m sure - but I must admit, it is an amazing composition.