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?
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?
“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?
Creation is a short novella, which details the creation of everything by Norse god Odin, and his brothers Vili and Ve. Its irreverent humour is refreshing and makes for many laugh out loud moments. It was an absolute blast to read!
The three gods are new to the world and to creating things, they are learning as they go along. Tripping over tree roots and one-upping each other in terms of the size of the creations they make. These gods are getting carried away with their newly discovered skills and creating all manner of things just because they can: a tree with needles instead of leaves that throws cone things down onto your head as you pass underneath? Why? Who needs that? Celery? No one appreciates that one. Odin tries to restore some kind of order over the proceedings and gets increasingly frustrated!
Determined to do better than his brother’s invention of celery to put an end to his hunger, Odin invents a cow: “You can drink from it.” he pronounces much to the cow’s consternation. When he adds that you can wrap it’s skin around you to keep warm and eat what’s inside, the cow’s outrage increases.
Odin philosophizes about what makes a thing alive and whether it is OK to eat such things. Vili continues making pretty things and Ve makes things that cause pain and destruction. Chaos ensues until a tragedy occurs and gives the gods pause. Then Odin turns introspective while considering that actions have consequences – even those of the gods…
Bjørn Larssen is a very talented comedic writer. His timing is perfect and the hilarity flows so well that you can read this novella in one sitting. This is the funniest book I’ve read for a long time and belongs on the shelves with Pratchett and Adams. If you are a fan of surreal, absurd humour you will love it! I cannot wait to read the next installment in this series.
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?
Book reviewer and garden enthusiast. Updates from my Hampshire garden. Usually talking about books and plants. People do not forget books or flowers that touch them or excite them—they recommend them.
Everything I know about gardening I've learnt from a combination of my mum, Carol Klein and Monty Don. My garden is a tiny 2x3m yard requiring a lot of TLC...
![Creation: Humorous Norse Mythology Retelling (Why Odin Drinks Book 1) by [Bjørn Larssen]](https://www.amazon.co.uk/images/I/51Pig54T8nL._SY346_.jpg)
Rosie Amber 