THE NORSE MYTHS

by Kevin--Ed. Crossley-Holland ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 1980

The Norse myths are usually left to children, to Wagner, and to William Morris; but hope and help are at hand--just in time, too, for the great Viking art show. Kevin Crossley-Holland--poet, translator of Beowolf, editor of related books for children--has provided a reader's guide to the myths and retold the key narratives, as parts of a single, developing story, from the Creation to Ragnarok, or (in popular parlance) the Twilight of the Gods. In the introduction, he describes the Norse world, introduces the leading gods and goddesses (noting, apropos of Odin's violence, that ""a culture gets the Gods it needs""), identifies the sources of the myths (chiefly in 13th-century Iceland, where they lived longest), and explains their literary structure--in effect, what to expect and what to look for. His retellings are splendid, varied in tone (to reflect variations among the sources), but generally brisk, tight, wry, beefy--very strong on verbs, and on yeoman Anglo-Saxon words overall. With their many scenes played out in short, active dialogue exchanges (not set-speeches), these have always been tales closer in form to modern fiction than a reader of classical myths might expect; but Crossley-Holland has heightened that aspect--and given the characters' words more psychological spin (Loki the Trickster, scheming, ""Exactly""; and ""Odin smiled""). And pragmatically, the chapters are short, the paragraphs are short, the sentences are short (or clearly subdivided)--even in the majestic ""Death of Balder,"" where the pace slows, the rhythms lengthen out, become more deliberate, like a keening: ""The gods and goddesses did not sleep; they kept vigil in Gladsheim. Ranged around Balder's body, so white that it was gleaming, each of them was prey to his own thoughts and hopes and fears . . ."" An estimable addition to the Pantheon series.

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 1980

ISBN: 0394748468

Page Count: -

Publisher: Pantheon

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION