Review of Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman (ISBN:978-)0393609097

SYNOPSIS

In a fit of insomnia, author Neil Gaiman presents another retelling of Norse myths. Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon, and fashions these stories into a novelistic arc. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose emerge plots and characters that are fiercely competitive, susceptibile to being duped and to duping others, and letting their passions ignite their actions. By design, there is nothing new here. However, this novel proves that classics are, in fact, classic.

REVIEW

I had a philosophy teacher in college who started out the semester asking the class to define the word “Myth.” After several students gave their answers, she dropped her punchline: Myth is truth. I found this to be the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, and it still makes me cringe to this day. Myth is not truth; truth is truth.

Mythology is a shared fictional version of reality. Instead of helping people to know reality, it explains the parts of reality that are difficult to explain or understand in such a way that the explaination becomes more real and complex than reality. In the past hundred or so years, there have been thousands of non-fiction books retelling the fictional mythology of the ancient Norsemen. These could be said to be non-fictional accounts of a fictional version of reality.

Now that we have Gaiman’s new novel, we have a fictional version of these non-fiction books. In fact, we actually have a fictional version of the non-fictional accounts of a fictional version of reality. We could simplify things by stripping off the multiple layers a bit. First, take away the fiction, then the non-fictional retelling, then the mythology. What would we have left? Reality! Instead of having to wade through three layers of misconception, academic excellence, and storytelling, we could get the real goods straight from the horse’s mouth if we just stick to non-fictional reality.

Once I came to this realization, at about page 20, I have to admit that I stopped reading the book and went out for a walk.

CONCLUSIONS

I need to give a series of ratings for this book:

1. The book itself: 2 stars out of 5. It was well-written, and was well-intended.
2. The plethora of academic material from which the book was ripped: 4 out of 5 stars. Good scholarship
3. The original Norse mythology: 1 out of 5 stars. Overly complex in order to explain simple concepts.
4. Reality: 5 out of 5 stars.

Until next time,

Anne Stallings, for Novel Premise Book Reviews