A lyric course in Norse mythology packed with heart and wit.
A romantic fantasy sees a woman become enthralled to the Norse gods.
Euthalia, a young woman soon to be married, journeys with her father’s trading expedition. While traveling, Chief Tikhomir wants to wed his daughter to a rich member of the Byzantine Empire. When large vessels shaped like serpents approach downriver, he hopes the Northmen aboard plan to negotiate rather than plunder. Tikhomir offers Euthalia to the man with the “dragon voice,” avoiding senseless fighting. She leaves with the Northmen, patient for a chance to escape but also surprised by how well they feed, clothe, and bathe her. Eventually, they reach a Northland village, and she learns that she’s to be sacrificed—that is, married—to the man with the dragon voice. Doing so both mystifies and ennobles her existence, because the man is actually Vidar, a son of the god Odin, ruler of Asgard. Vidar keeps her in an empty replica of the Northland village, visiting her dwelling only at night, when no light may reveal his face. Euthalia otherwise becomes known as a teller of Greek tales to the Asgardians, whom she meets in Odin’s hall. Among them is the trickster Loki, who plays Euthalia against his fellow gods to deadly effect. In this expressive banquet of love, legends, and exploits, VanArendonk Baugh (Social, Civil, and Savvy, 2017, etc.) channels the charm and grandeur of the Norse pantheon effortlessly. Splendid dialogue breathes life into the likes of the poet Bragi, who says, “All stories are songs....Only some have music.” The stars of Norse myth appear as the mystery of Vidar unfolds, including Thor, Freyja, Baldr, as well as the inhuman children of Loki, Fenrir, and Jörmungandr. As the world-ending Ragnarok approaches, Euthalia wonders whether the gods have been struck with “admirable self-possession or futile madness.” She later discovers that “there is small magic in the daily choices of every living thing.” Overall, a tale for everyone—especially those who love a mix of superheroes, romance, and monstrous action.
A lyric course in Norse mythology packed with heart and wit.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63165-004-8
Page Count: 302
Publisher: Æclipse Press
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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