The Gospel Of Loki

Author: Joanne M Harris

All those stories, nothing but venomous bad-mouthing of a complex hero who has simply always been way too clever and creative, for his own good, thus a target of envy and ridicule … Loki the Trickster himself finally sets things straight and tells us the REAL tale how he, Demon-born Wildfire, was lured by Odin into the realm of the Nine Worlds, only to end up in legends as the God of Lies. Quite frustrating, this role of his as the eternal underdog of Asgard, never fully accepted by his fellow-gods and goddesses, despite his numerous efforts to help out with his wits and talents – thus the final break-up with the Aesir was inevitable. Was it too much to ask for a bit of respect? And when it comes to betrayal, he reveals how he was betrayed too, so he had no other choice than setting the stage for this tragic Ragnarök incident… so you actually feel a little bit sorry for poor misunderstood Loki….

Admittedly, my interest in Norse mythology was recently renewed by a certain series of block busters – so I simply could not resist when I spotted it on the shelf. I realized later that I had encountered the author Joanne Harris before (Chocolat, made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, Five Quarters of an Orange). Therefore her tongue-in-cheek re-telling of popular saga material in a more contemporary jargon feels effortless and entertaining despite the blood and gore, also because the narrator in my head persistently sounded like Tom Hiddleston… well, seriously, what choice did I have about that?