This particular book was somewhat
difficult to review, but since it was very kindly requested of me, I
promised to write something. :)
It’s no surprise that I loved Joanne Harris’ “Chocolat”, and I’ll have to say I’ve
enjoyed all the other books by her that I’ve read. Since my
interests include Viking Age and, to some extent, Norse mythology, I
was very keen to read Harris’ “The Gospel of Loki”.
I gather there’s been some
controversy over how Loki has been portrayed here and whether the
tale is faithful to the known sources of Norse mythology. Frankly, I
didn’t care. So shoot me. This is a retelling, and told from
one person’s (I mean god’s) point of view, and thus I would
expect it to differ from
the known versions. And, like any other myth/holy book/gospel... or,
well, with any book at all... you can interpret it in
countless different ways. So I’m not going to go into that.
The book is best characterised as a
modern re-imagining of (some of) the Norse myths – the key word
being modern. That goes for the style and the language in
particular. This seemed rather odd at first, but then, the narrator
is Loki, the trickster god (need I go into the reliable/unreliable
narrator here? I didn’t think so) and he’s obviously managed to
keep up with the way language has evolved rather than remaining stuck
in archaic vernacular. The use of modern expressions and clever word
play makes the book a light and humorous read and gives Loki a witty,
snarky voice. Your Humble Narr... erm, reviewer found his
repetitive use of certain expressions a little tiresome – but then,
we all have our idiosyncratic expressions, so perhaps that just makes him
more human (is he supposed to be that, though?)
A glance at reviews tells
me that readers’
perceptions
of Loki differ wildly. He’s seen as
a demon, as a whiny
adolescent, a bad boy, a
rebel and whatnot.
I saw him (or rather, he made me see himself) as an underdog,
a misunderstood scapegoat whose malice
(partly
anyway) sprang from being treated unjustly. Interesting. I bet this is all Loki’s
plan: he uses his story and his silver
tongue to seduce us, make us take his side... and
he is truly a shape shifter, a master of disguise; people
who have read his story
can’t even agree on
who he is or what he is (his True Aspect). For
a named thing is a
tamed thing...
For one thing, this was certainly not
a boring read (I didn’t quite laugh aloud but I did smile on
several occasions) and I suspect
even readers not into Norse mythology would find this entertaining.
Not to mention all those
Loki fans. ;) I could have asked for a little more depth, a little
more drama and detail, but
that might not have
suited the fast-paced story or the chatty, wry voice of Loki.
At the beginning of each chapter,
there is a short quote from “Lokabrenna”. Many of these start
with “Never trust...” and once you’ve finished the book, you’ve
learned your lesson: never trust anyone. And Loki is the trickster,
remember? Never trust anyone, but especially... never trust
Loki!
That is what made writing this review
so hard: every time I thought of something to criticise, it somehow
turned out to be something that was probably Loki’s plan all along (which, considering his fame as a cunning trickster, is just brilliant). For example: Loki himself is an interesting
character; the rest of the cast, however, remain rather flat or
appear to be little else but brainless brutes. Then again, this is
Loki’s story, perhaps that is how he sees the other gods. Wait...
this is Loki’s story! Perhaps that is how he wants us to see
the other gods! That trickster...
Well, there is one thing where I
trust Loki completely, and that is when he says: “Most problems can
be solved through cake”. (Or chocolate, obviously. ;) )
