brenticus reviewed The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
None
5 stars
Normally I'd probably tag this as four stars, because the end of the Skáldskaparmál was drier than hardtack left in the desert for a decade. But quite honestly, this is the sort of thing that I think everyone should read (and it was only rough for a few pages, anyways). It's so approachable and readable that Gaiman's Norse Mythology feels pointless almost immediately. The stories are fantastic to just quickly read one or two before bed. The translation by Byock is just incredible, with fantastic appendices and footnotes.
Some tales you read and are entertained. Some you read and learn where some generic reference came from that you honestly had no idea about. Some you read and you're just impressed that someone could come up with that nonsense. But they're all good in some way.
I do wish my edition had the Háttatal included. It sounds about as boring as …
Some tales you read and are entertained. Some you read and learn where some generic reference came from that you honestly had no idea about. Some you read and you're just impressed that someone could come up with that nonsense. But they're all good in some way.
I do wish my edition had the Háttatal included. It sounds about as boring as the end of Skáldskaparmál, but the fact that a dude wrote a manual on skaldic poetry fascinates me. But the best stuff was in Gylfaginning, so eh, I'll live.
