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Paul Weiss's Reviews > Odd and the Frost Giants
Odd and the Frost Giants
by
by
An inventive, modern re-telling of a very old and enduring theme
Twelve year old Odd, a young lad living in a Norwegian village, hasn't had it easy at all. After his father's untimely death in a Viking raid, his mother married a man that Odd despised. Having badly injured his leg in an accident cutting down a tree, Odd was unable to fit into the community. His cruel neighbours constantly bullied him and abused him with their laughter at his weakness. Gaiman obviously intended the name "Odd" to serve as a metaphor for the struggles he faced and the growth of his unwillingness to live any longer in a place that didn't accept him for who he was.
As a bitterly cold winter tenaciously refused to let go of its hold on the land, Odd gathered some food and ran away to his father's cabin in the woods to live by himself. You can imagine Odd's surprise when he encounters three talking animals - a fox, a bear and an eagle - surprise that turns into a blend of astonishment and fear when learns that the animals are, in fact, gods. Thor, Odin and Loki, defeated by their nemesis, the Frost Giants, were tricked into assuming these animal forms and banished from Asgard, the traditional home of the Norse gods. In a wonderfully endearing and very modern twist on the David vs Goliath theme, Odd enters Asgard to help the gods win back their ancestral home, outwit the Frost Giants and, in the bargain, release winter's deadly grip on his home village.
ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS is an inventive, thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining allegory that an adult can comfortably read in the company of even the youngest beginning readers in the family or enjoy on their own as a short, enjoyable fantasy. A charming and yet comfortingly realistic ending will put a smile on every reader's face.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Twelve year old Odd, a young lad living in a Norwegian village, hasn't had it easy at all. After his father's untimely death in a Viking raid, his mother married a man that Odd despised. Having badly injured his leg in an accident cutting down a tree, Odd was unable to fit into the community. His cruel neighbours constantly bullied him and abused him with their laughter at his weakness. Gaiman obviously intended the name "Odd" to serve as a metaphor for the struggles he faced and the growth of his unwillingness to live any longer in a place that didn't accept him for who he was.
As a bitterly cold winter tenaciously refused to let go of its hold on the land, Odd gathered some food and ran away to his father's cabin in the woods to live by himself. You can imagine Odd's surprise when he encounters three talking animals - a fox, a bear and an eagle - surprise that turns into a blend of astonishment and fear when learns that the animals are, in fact, gods. Thor, Odin and Loki, defeated by their nemesis, the Frost Giants, were tricked into assuming these animal forms and banished from Asgard, the traditional home of the Norse gods. In a wonderfully endearing and very modern twist on the David vs Goliath theme, Odd enters Asgard to help the gods win back their ancestral home, outwit the Frost Giants and, in the bargain, release winter's deadly grip on his home village.
ODD AND THE FROST GIANTS is an inventive, thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining allegory that an adult can comfortably read in the company of even the youngest beginning readers in the family or enjoy on their own as a short, enjoyable fantasy. A charming and yet comfortingly realistic ending will put a smile on every reader's face.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
September 7, 2019
– Shelved
September 7, 2019
– Shelved as:
fantasy
September 7, 2019
– Shelved as:
young-adult
