Neil Gaiman says he first encountered the Norse myths in the pages of Marvel Comics. I first encountered the Norse Myths in the pages of school textbooks. I later discovered livelier versions, and he later discovered more complete versions, truer to the original sources.
One important difference is that Gaiman is an excellent writer, and he became interested in researching the myths and presenting them to new generations in a form both true to the sources and engaging for modern readers.
Or, in this case, as is most appropriate for ancient myths, listeners.
In his introduction, he discusses what we do, and tantalizingly, what we don't know, about the Norse gods. We know Odin and Thor and Loki, the Norns and the giants, and others, but there are also gods for whom only and some bare details remain, with no surviving stories to retell.
Both his words and his reading of them breathe life into the stories we have. None of the Norse gods are simple and straightforward evocations of merely a few traits, nor are they what we'd consider fully rounded characters. They are, nevertheless, compelling, especially with Gaiman, an excellent oral storyteller as well as an excellent writer, reading his own retellings of their tales.
It's a very good few hours' listening.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
No comments:
Post a Comment