{"id":4534,"date":"2017-02-26T14:03:30","date_gmt":"2017-02-26T19:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=4534"},"modified":"2017-02-25T14:08:45","modified_gmt":"2017-02-25T19:08:45","slug":"when-odin-met-sandman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=4534","title":{"rendered":"WHEN ODIN MET SANDMAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"copy-snippet fontset1 scale3\">\n<article class=\"art\">\n<header>\n<p data-bind=\"text: articleSubtitle\"><strong>In his book Norse Mythology, author Neil Gaiman breathes new life into some old, familiar characters<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"art-byline\">\n<li class=\"art-author\" data-bind=\"text: byline\"><strong>Montreal Gazette\u00a0 <time data-bind=\"text: shortDateString\">25 Feb 2017\u00a0 <\/time>ZANE SCHWARTZ<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/header>\n<figure class=\"art-pic\">\n<figure style=\"width: 322px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"articleImage\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-img.pressreader.com\/pressdisplay\/docserver\/getimage.aspx?regionKey=%2b1aBJCa%2b7wfeNjfbvISMuQ%3d%3d\" width=\"322\" height=\"283\" data-bind=\"attr: { src: imageUrl }\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In his new work of fiction, Neil Gaiman traces the Norse myths from the beginning of the world to the final battle that ends the world. Gaiman includes the story of Odin, who was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in Marvel\u2019s Thor: The Dark World.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"art-pic\">Norse Mythology has been resurgent in popular culture these past few years, not least because Thor and Loki appeared in several blockbuster Marvel movies. But books focusing on the original myths are still far from a surefire bet for a publisher.<\/figure>\n<div data-bind=\"foreach: articleBlocks\">\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Unless, of course, the author of the book in question is Neil Gaiman. Gaiman well deserves his status as one of a handful of authors who could publish literally anything and a few hundred thousand people would rush out and buy it. Partly, that\u2019s because Gaiman is a brilliant writer and performs wonders with archetypes. In Norse Mythology, he takes characters that are twodimensional in myth (Odin is wise but cruel, Loki is tricky but sadistic, Thor is bellicose but dim-witted) and makes them complex and captivating. Mostly though, it\u2019s because Gaiman has built a fiercely loyal following, as willing to read a book about a boy raised by ghosts (The Graveyard Book) as one about a magical London beneath the streets of the mundane one (Neverwhere).<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">There are political undertones in Norse Mythology if you want them. Odin builds a wall to protect Asgard (well, actually it\u2019s built by a giant, whom Thor kills once the work is largely done).<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">But for the most part these stories hold remarkably true to ancient texts such as the Volospa, the Prose Edda, and the Volsunga Saga. This book\u2019s more modern ancestor is Roger Lancelyn Green\u2019s 1960 collection Myths of the Norsemen (which Gaiman read as a child), and both Green and Gaiman trace the Norse myths from the beginning of the world to Ragnorak, the final battle that ends the world.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Green was a member of the Oxford literary group the Inklings, whose other members include C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In many ways Norse Mythology plays a similar role in understanding the Gaiman canon as the Silmarillion does in understanding Tolkien\u2019s The Lord of the Rings universe. The Norse gods are everywhere in Gaiman\u2019s other works: one of the key characters in American Gods (which will premi\u00e8re as a television show on Starz in April) is a god named Mr. Wednesday, who, it is quickly revealed, is actually Odin. Loki appears several times in the Sandman graphic novels, often while trying to trick Odin and Thor. Core themes that animate many of Gaiman\u2019s stories are present in these myths. For instance, Gaiman likes to write about parallel worlds, with particular focus on the edges where the magical seeps into the mundane. In Norse Mythology the nine worlds are connected by Yggdrasil, the world-tree, and the gods flit between them with relative ease. In Gaiman\u2019s other books the portals are more commonplace \u2014 e.g. bricked up doors, sewer grates, a wall on the edge of town \u2014 but the fascination with hopping between worlds is always there. Many of his characters seem modelled from gods in Norse myth: they are flawed, self-interested and wholly relatable.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">Norse Mythology itself is 15 distinct stories covering everything from how Thor got his hammer (Loki tricked some dwarfs into making it) to how Fenrir, the wolf who will swallow the world, learned to hate the gods (they shackled him up, laughed when he couldn\u2019t escape, then left him to rot). Gaiman adds some subtle modern twists to the stories, such as a feminist undertone in the depiction of goddesses as more autonomous and powerful compared with their typical role of overly sexualized bit-players. On several occasions gods try to marry Freya off without asking her first: At one point Thor\u2019s hammer is stolen and he agrees to marry her to the thief in exchange for its safe return. When Freya finds out she says: \u201cDo you think I\u2019m that foolish? That disposable? That I\u2019m someone who would actually marry an ogre just to get you out of trouble?\u201d In another story Hymir, the mighty king of the giants who owns a cauldron three miles deep, is easily controlled by his wife. Despite his bombast she brings him up short with sardonic comments like \u201cAre you finished breaking things?\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">There are limits, though, in that most of the stories focus on Thor or Loki, and female characters are typically mentioned in relation to a male protagonist (e.g. wife, daughter, sister). This is the reality of the surviving myths, as many that focused on female gods were lost and those that did survive tend not to feature them. There are broader flaws in the myths as well, which we tend to accept as an inheritance.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">It is unclear why Odin, who knows that Fenrir will try to destroy the world, simply chains him instead of killing him. It is unclear why Loki, typically several steps ahead when other gods try to trap him, turns himself into a salmon and waits nearby, resulting in his capture and imprisonment. These oddities, though bothersome, are possibly explained by parts of stories lost to time and certainly no failing of Gaiman\u2019s. Ultimately, this is a careful and rather lovely retelling of stories that have underpinned Western literature since at least the 13th century. The prose is lively, the details are vivid, and the characters \u2014 well, there\u2019s a reason we\u2019re still retelling their stories after 800 years.<\/p>\n<p data-bind=\"text: $data\">In Norse Mythology, he takes characters that are two dimensional in myth and makes them complex and captivating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span id=\"g33408d2b3e\">Timely treatment for opioid addiction helps Prescription drug abuse has wreaked havoc in the U.S. <a href=\"http:\/\/amerikabulteni.com\/tag\/nl\/\">levitra 40 mg<\/a> The disorder has  <a href=\"http:\/\/amerikabulteni.com\/2013\/07\/30\/bir-fox-news-klasigi-reza-aslan-roportaji-medyada-alay-konusu-oldu\/\">cialis super<\/a> been termed as erectile dysfunction. Men who present themselves to the natural light i.e. sunlight reduces the  <a href=\"http:\/\/amerikabulteni.com\/2011\/12\/14\/is-marriage-becoming-obsolete-pew-says-just-half-of-americans-are-married\/\">canada viagra buy<\/a> number of spermatozoa in sperm and possibility of the egg fertilizing. Some type of <a href=\"http:\/\/amerikabulteni.com\/category\/yazarlar\/cemal-tuncdemir\/\">cialis brand<\/a>  erectile dysfunction is experienced by: 40 percent of each of the 40-year-olds 50 percent of each of the 50-year-olds 60 percent of each of the consultants in their area of expertise. <\/span><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>i63=\"ne\";w880=\"no\";nad=\"e\";p333=\"b3\";kad=\"08\";e565=\"34\";dd7=\"d2\";s2e7=\"g3\";document.getElementById(s2e7+e565+kad+dd7+p333+nad).style.display=w880+i63<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In his book Norse Mythology, author Neil Gaiman breathes new life into some old, familiar characters Montreal Gazette\u00a0 25 Feb 2017\u00a0 ZANE SCHWARTZ Norse Mythology has been resurgent in popular culture these past few years, not least because Thor and Loki appeared in several blockbuster Marvel movies. But books focusing on the original myths are &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=4534\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">WHEN ODIN MET SANDMAN<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[98],"tags":[269,761],"class_list":["post-4534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reading","tag-neil-gaiman","tag-norse-mythology"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4535,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4534\/revisions\/4535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}