Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor, and Loki

The structure of this book is brilliant because it uses the structure of the Prose Edda (with the exception of the prologue) as a base, with Gylfi disguised as Gangleri going to Asgard to question the gods about their stories, although Kevin Crossley-Holland’s version is much more dramatized and entertaining than the medieval literature style of Snorri Sturluson. It changed the reason for him going, but it makes more sense within the context; in the Prose Edda, the story of Gefjun creating Zealand is thrown in at the very beginning with seemingly zero connection to the rest of the narrative. I also love the addition of Gylfi to the last chapter. It makes sense and it brings the mythological stories together very well. There are a multitude of myths in this volume, much more so than in others like it (such as Neil Gaiman’s anthology). Crossley-Holland tells the stories in a manner that’s witty and easy to understand. He keeps the vibe of the original myth and adds his own flare. His version of the myths are very accurate. He takes some liberties and adds some details to make the tale fit a modern audience better, as well as puts in his own interpretation when the given information is sparse, but he rarely discards story bits from the original sources. The only times he seems to do this are when the tale becomes particularly gruesome (Thor’s murder of Heimir’s host at the end of Thor’s fishing expedition is missing, for example) or for continuity’s sake (Kvasir is missing from the story of the capturing of Loki). Other than things like that, these tales are very accurate. This anthology of Norse myths has every famous tale and many of the obscure stories only found in the Prose Edda. It evens has the Otter’s Ransom story, which involves the gods heavily but is actually the start of the Volsunga Saga. There are a few myths that are missing, however; Freyja’s dalliance with the dwarves to get Brisingamen and Loki’s Taunts are notably absent, although both are mentioned. I think these were omitted due to the family-friendly nature of this book. I understand the motive behind making these tales digestible for young audiences, and I love that it’s accessible, but I still would have liked to see the missing stories in some capacity. Overall, this was an absolutely wonderful collection! The myths are told beautifully, and in a way that is accessible to all ages, which I think is a very good thing. This is also a fantastic companion piece to Gaiman’s book since this one has more stories than Gaiman’s and fills in some gaps.