Greetings,
Have you ever heard the term "Unreliable narrator"? Well, in case it's not obvious, this means that the person telling a story might not be the most trustworthy person in all the land. Now this is the kind of thing that can go either way. Some people, when reading a story, want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, whilst others find some mystery and even entertainment value in a narrator who, shall we say, embellishes things a bit. For myself, I am one who enjoys the truth, but if the narration interests and amuses me enough, I'll take some stretching of it. And that might just be what a reader will get in The Gospel of Loki.
The Gospel of Loki is a 2014 novel by Joanne Harris, who might be best known for the book Chocolat. It was a movie. There is chocolate everywhere. I love it. But I digress. This book is a retelling of many stories from Norse mythology about Thor and Odin and Asgard and all the...lovely characters within, all told from the lips of - you'll never guess - Loki! Hence, my discussion of the "Unreliable narrator". I hear Loki can be a trickster. I heard it a lot in this book. I also heard that, apparently, one of his other names is Dogstar, which made me wonder if this is where Keanu Reeves got the name of that band he used to play in. Just wondering.
Anyway, the point of having these stories told by the supposed villain, I think, is because they tend to be told by the supposed heroes. That's probably how they get their respective titles. Now, don't get me wrong. This does not exactly portray Loki as the good guy, but it does allow him to show us the people who we assume to be the good guys from a different angle. And while he may be biased against them, it doesn't mean he's making everything up. Even if he is, though, he does so in a very amusing manner. That's probably the best thing about this book - the way the narration and his dialogue are written. Quickly enough, you get used to his manner of speaking, but then he throws in a surprise, like quite a few modern pop culture references, like the word "chillax". I'm not making this up. Although, that modern speaking makes you wonder when exactly this story is being told. I like that, because it's part of the mystery.
Also, this book doesn't exactly have a traditional plot. As I mentioned before, it more tells a lot of different stories, again, ones we know from Norse mythology, but from a different perspective. The thread is the narrator, which gives it some cohesion and structure. I suppose the plot, such as it is, could be the story of Loki's life. And I enjoy it this way, as it keeps things interesting.
Now I don't know when Joanne Harris began writing this book, but if you'll notice the release year, it seems to have come out in the wake of us getting the version of Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of which, I am not the biggest fan. Thus, I am forced to use a word I despise, and that word is..."fan ficcy". Okay, that might not be an actual word, but it is in reference to, of course, fan fiction, much of which has spawned about Loki since the release of the movie Thor and especially The Avengers. Now this book's concept might fit well into that type of writing, but it goes beyond that. It almost seems like it has the feel of a fan fiction type story, infused with actual knowledge of Norse mythology, all through the filter of someone who is a legit good writer. Look, fan fic people, I am not calling you all bad writers, far from it; I'm just saying those sites tend to not be visited for stellar literature but rather for fun. And possibly titillation. Wow. That's a word I never thought I'd use in this blog. Anywho, whilst we're on the subject of such things, you might want to use this book to challenge yourself. Like I dare you to get through three pages before you start hearing the voice of Tom Hiddleston attached to every word. If you can, you are a better person than I am.
In conclusion, I think anyone, who is into the whole Loki phenomenon, will probably give this book a chance. But I'm hoping that people won't shun it for the exact same reason of said phenomenon. I mean, these stories have been around for hundreds of years, and yes, re-tellings are kind of "in" right now. But the quality of The Gospel of Loki goes beyond any literary or cultural fads. It's done by a great writer who has given an entertaining voice to a kind of character that rarely gets to do the talking. I say it's worth a read.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
