‘A light-hearted romp through Norse mythology’. @TerryTyler4 reviews Why Odin Drinks by @bjornlarssen

Today’s team review is from Terry. She blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Terry has been reading Why Odin Drinks by Bjørn Larssen

4 out of 5 stars

I read the first episode of Bjørn Larssen’s (very) alternative Norse mythology, Creation, which is now incorporated into this book – this is good, because I was able to re-read it before embarking on the confused All-Father’s further adventures.

I think I would need to know a lot more about Norse mythology than I do in order to fully appreciate this, though I did look up bits and bobs here and there, which helped.  The idea of portraying Odin as rather hesitant and not quite sure of his role as ultimate creator, is inspired.  Problem is that he and all the other gods (and versions of Odin in the past, present and future) know about everything that will be (which seems logical, what with them being deities), but are not always sure whether items or concepts actually exist yet.  Like Odin’s wife Frigg not being sure what a miniskirt is, but knowing she wants one. 

‘What sort of tea will you have?”They haven’t discovered it yet,’ said Urðr.  ‘He looks like the lapsang souchong type to me, though.’One of my favourite aspects was the occasional presence of ‘literature’. 

She is an entity that whispers to Odin’s mind a piece of information pertaining to something that has just been said, such as ‘Loki is foreshadowing‘, but Odin cannot see her; he just hears the sound of her sneakers as she sprints away.  I love that.

In parts 2-4 we meet many more gods – Loki, Freya and Freyr, and Frigg.  Freya, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, war and gold (pretty much all the most important things to a Norseman, one imagines) is portrayed as a sort of Paris Hilton type, which I thought was genius.

‘As he travelled, Odin thoroughly investigated people of all shapes and sizes, casually letting it slip that he was the All-Father’.

Some of the time the references went over my head because of my lack of knowledge of the subject, though other times I felt the prose needed a bit of tightening up; it seemed to career away with itself now and again.  However, the good is very very good, and I also liked the pertinent observations about life and death, time and war, woven amongst the ridiculousness.  And the ending.  Clever.
A light-hearted romp through Norse mythology, and a fitting development for Bjørn Larssen’s comedic talent!

Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly?

Poor Odin must restrain his brothers, who create offensive weapons such as mosquitoes and celery; placate his future-telling wife, Frigg, who demands sweatpants with pockets; listen to Loki’s Helpful Questions; hang himself from Yggdrasil for nine days with a spear through his side (as you do); teach everyone about nutritional values of kale (but NOT celery); meet a Wise Dom, Sir Daddy Mímir, in order to outwit those who outwit him; and, most importantly, prove he is The All-Father, while his brothers are, at best, Those-Uncles-We-Don’t-Talk-About.

This nearly (except in Vanaheim) universally acclaimed retelling of the Gods’ first millennium answers way too many questions, including ones on Freyr’s entendre, horse designing… and why Odin drinks. 

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‘Gods in a place that as yet has nothing’. @GeorgiaRoseBook Reviews Creation by Bjørn Larssen @bjornlarssen, For Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Georgia. She blogs here https://www.georgiarosebooks.com

Georgia has been reading Creation by Bjørn Larssen

This book tells the tale of Odin waking up along with his two brothers, Vili and Vé, to find themselves Gods in a place that as yet has nothing. It should be a terrific opportunity to create loads of cool stuff, you’d think. However, Odin, and his brothers, have no idea what they are doing and come up with random things such as celery and mosquitoes instead. (I mean, who would ever choose to invent either of those!)

When Odin does manage to create something useful, a cow. They have no idea how to get milk out of it and the cow doesn’t hang around for long.

Creation is a short book and a pacey read. I enjoyed the humour and Larssen’s writing throughout and look forward to seeing what comes next.

In the beginning there was confusion.

Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly? Your brothers keep creating mosquitoes and celery and other, more threatening weapons. What can your ultimate answer be – the one that will make you THE All-Father and them, at best, the All-Those-Uncles-We-Don’t-Talk-About?

“FML! That answer’s why I drink!” – Odin

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‘It’s about Odin and his brothers, Vili and Vé, creating the world.’ @TerryTyler4 reviews #Humour novella CREATION by @bjornlarssen

Today’s team review is from Terry. She blogs here https://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Terry has been reading Creation by Bjørn Larssen

I read Bjørn Larssen’s debut novel, Storytellers, which made some references to Norse gods and featured a certain subtle humour in places.  I also read his second novel, Children, which is about the children of Norse gods and contains far more funny bits. I’ve read many of his blog posts and follow him on Twitter; the conclusion I’ve come to is that Mr Larssen is a terrific comedic writer, first and foremost, so I’m delighted that he’s actually written A FUNNY BOOK!

Creation is a novella, a slim paperback (beautifully presented), is hilarious, and made me laugh out loud on several occasions, which books rarely do. It’s about Odin and his brothers, Vili and Vé, creating the world. Except they’re not very good at it and don’t really understand what they’re doing. They wonder how to get the food out of Audhumla the cow, why words like ‘anvil’ ‘laptop’ and ‘algebra’ keep popping into their heads, how the flying water happened and why the wolf bit off the peacock’s head. Odin discovers that, along with man and woman, he has created irony. 

I think it’s the sort of book you find screamingly funny or you don’t, depending on your sense of humour. I echo the words of Bjørn’s husband, when he finished reading it: ‘When can I get more?’

In the beginning there was confusion.

Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly? Your brothers keep creating mosquitoes and celery and other, more threatening weapons. What can your ultimate answer be – the one that will make you THE All-Father and them, at best, the All-Those-Uncles-We-Don’t-Talk-About?

“FML! That answer’s why I drink!” – Odin

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‘Tongue firmly in cheek’ #Humour @deBieJennifer Reviews Norse #Mythology #Shortstory Creation by @bjornlarssen, For Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT

Today’s team review is from Jenni. She blogs here https://jenniferdebie.com/

Jenni has been reading Creation by Bjørn Larssen

“In the beginning, a God opened his eyes and sat up, utterly confused.”

Thus opens Creation, Bjørn Larssen’s latest take on Norse mythology. Tongue firmly in cheek, this self-professed heathen riffs on godhood, omnipotence, and what would happen if a few drunk uncles went on a bender on the blank canvas of the universe.

Spoilers, they’d invent chickens.

And then they’d invent the ‘containers’ chickens give birth to.

Personally, my familiarity with Norse mythology leans heavily to the second generation and the escapades of our favorite Marvel Vikings, not the Allfather and his unruly brothers at the dawn of time, so I can’t speak to how closely Creation adheres to the original mythos. I can say that as someone new to the lore, I never felt lost.

Did Odin just describe a cow as wrapped in material for clothes, full of food on the inside, and capable of producing drink? Yes, and isn’t that a deliciously sideways way of viewing the first cow in existence?

Now if you’ll excuse us, Zaphod Beeblbrox and I will take a cut from shoulder in white wine sauce.

And the reviewer makes a deep cut Douglas Adams joke for no one but herself, her Dad, and maybe the author. She has a feeling Larssen might be a Hitchhiker’s fan.

 Let go and roll with the madness, dear readers, because that is the kind of ride you are in for with Creation. Off-kilter in the best way possible, Creation is a book where the punches (and punchlines) just keep coming. Peopled by three gods trying to fumble their way into creating everything, and a cow that’s pretty certain she wants to keep the food inside her on the inside, Larrsen has a page turner on his hands. At under 70 pages, Creation is short enough to read in a single sitting, but worth savoring for those of us who like to mull over our comedy a bit.

Or read it in one go and be eager for more. Apparently this is only the first in a whole series called Why Odin Drinks— if most of his days are like the ones described by Larssen, I don’t blame him!

5/5

In the beginning there was confusion.

Ever woken up being a God, but not knowing how to God properly? Your brothers keep creating mosquitoes and celery and other, more threatening weapons. What can your ultimate answer be – the one that will make you THE All-Father and them, at best, the All-Those-Uncles-We-Don’t-Talk-About?

“FML! That answer’s why I drink!” – Odin

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