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Norse Mythology books
#1
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland

I've had this for years and finally read it. He sticks close to his sources (mainly the two Eddas) so it has a strong flavor of the culture, plus some weird stuff that other authors leave out (example: in the story of Utgard-Haloki, Thor is trying to cross a river that keeps getting higher, and sees that it is getting higher because a giantess is menstruating into it). From a narrative standpoint, it's quite terse, and some things happen very suddenly or just don't make sense. I think that makes it more effective as myth, but less as story. There are notes on each myth regarding sources and interpretation, and there's a long introduction. It also looks good, with plenty of whitespace for my old eyes, and nice line-drawing chapter head art taken from runestones and wood carvings.

Myths of the Norsemen by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Yeti may remember this book; we read it in an English class we took together in high school. Green was at university with Tolkien and Lewis, and a fellow member of the Inklings. (He convinced Lewis to finish the first Narnia book after Tolkien said it was no good, so you can praise or blame him for that.) He is more concerned with the shape of the whole story than Crossley-Holland, so he puts in some dialogue, and gives Loki more of a character development arc. He can be a bit prudish: in his story of the Brisingamen, Freya marries each of the dwarves in turn to get the necklace, rather than just spend the night with them. A plus is that this book includes  the story of Andvari's ring (from the Volsungsaga, and not in Crossley-Holland), which was a huge influence on Tolkien and Wagner, with a cursed ring kept by a dragon, and one brother kills the other for it. Also a sword broken and then reforged! Only a very short introduction and no notes. Also really bad artwork for chapter heads.

The Norse Myths by Neil Gaiman

Much like Green (whom he says he read and re-read as a child), but even more of a retelling, with more dialogue and more character development. As storytelling it is effective, but as myth much less so; it's just not as alien as Crossley-Holland, and feels more like fairy or folk tales. I think he's a very good writer, but this one falls a bit flat for me. Plus it has fewer stories than either of the previous ones. I think for a child it would be great though. Again, only a very short introduction and no notes.

Ragnarök by A.S. Byatt

This one was interesting. She uses a framing story of a little girl sent to the country in WWII, and it's a little bit of retelling of Norse Myth and mostly the girl's reaction to it and other things. She does invent some things, notably a seaweed equivalent of Yggdrasil (which seemed needless to me) and long scenes with Loki and Jormungandr. Entertaining but only partially about myth.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

I just happened to see this in the library and picked it up. It's a story in the world of the Norse Gods, and since it's his own story, I think it works better than the ones in The Norse Myths. Freya says something to the main character that seems to show his take on the gods. It's a kid's book, but enjoyable and a quick read. Illustrations are mediocre.
the hands that guide me are invisible
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