Jessica's Reviews > The Prose Edda

I was so excited to finally get around to reading Norse mythology, but I wound up being less than impressed with the Prose Edda. It may be that I am just used to Greek myths, which read more like supernatural soap operas (and I looooove me some soapy goodness), but a good deal of the Prose Edda just lulled me to sleep. Really, how much is there to say about mead and gold? If you are ancient and Norse, then apparently there are volumes to be proclaimed on just those two subjects alone. I swear half the book is composed of myths which justify the different slang words for gold--and in case you were wondering, cant expressions for gold abound.

I think the most interesting things about the book were the appendices, which discuss the complexities of Norse poetry. They were didactic, but had little to do with the naming of gold, so score one for the appendices! The myths themselves weren't all boring, but there didn't seem to be a lot of heart or personality attributed to the characters (except for Thor, who, let me tell you, is a crack up), and Greek mythology has such strong characterizations that I felt the lack of them here. For mythology lovers, Tolkien and Lewis lovers and lit snobs, the Prose Edda is still worth a read, but it may be more of an acquired taste.