The Gospel of Loki, Joanne Harris
I love Loki’s voice in this. I promised Joanne Harris I wouldn’t mention A Certain Actor, but actually, I think she makes her Loki pretty distinct anyway. It’s recognisably her writing, her way of getting into a character’s head — I think I could recognise the style somehow without ever knowing the author — and she makes it work very well. I’ve actually found over time that I prefer her other work, like Chocolat, to Runemarks, Runelight and The Gospel of Loki, which are ostensibly closer to my usual genre, but I still liked this a lot.
It sticks fairly close to the source texts of the Eddas, while also linking fairly closely with Runemarks and Runelight, from what I can recall of those books. But you don’t need to read any of those to enjoy Loki’s version of his own story — though it would probably help you appreciate the wry asides and the neat little twists to the tale.
If I was going to compare this to anything, I’d actually talk about Sassafrass’ ‘My Brother, My Enemy’, which gives Loki a voice to justify what he did in a similar way. The main difference is that the song gives both Loki and Odin justification for their actions, while Joanne Harris’ version shows that neither of them are really justified, and left me wanting to bang the heads of both sides together.
Anyway, definitely fun and compulsively readable, as all Joanne Harris’ work has been for me. I love some of her descriptions of Ragnarok — she nailed it, even if I couldn’t stop seeing Chris Hemsworth smashing Bifrost. (Sorry. I didn’t promise not to mention that actor.)
I’ve read a couple of Harris’ better known works without being enchanted by them, but had heard this was worth a try. After your review I’m not so sure… So much else to read, and I’m a steady reader!
Which ones have you read? I have to say, I think her Norse mythology ones are probably “better”/closer to my usual taste, but for some reason I prefer the way she writes in her other work. The advantage of Gospel over Runemarks and Runelight is that it’s shorter; the disadvantage is that it’s less original through following the traditional story closely…
Chocolat, obviously, and Coastliners are the only two of hers I’ve read. Perhaps I’ll look out for the two Rune books first.
Oh, Coastliners is definitely far from my favourite. Chocolat probably is my favourite, though it’s always been in my sort of “guilty pleasure” category.
I was at the bottom of the review when it clicked that the author was Johanne Harris. I love her books, this is definitely going on my to-read shelf!
Haha, yes, it does seem pretty different, doesn’t it? Enjoy!
I love My Brother, My Enemy…..
You kind of have to, given how much I sing it.