"When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.
Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family…or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age."
Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family…or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age."
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Many today will be familiar with the Norse Gods, primarily Thor, Odin and of course the Trickster and Shapeshifter, Loki - few will be familiar with the Goddesses besides Freya, and maybe Hel at a push (since her appearance in the MCU).
It is against this Patriarchal backdrop that Genevieve grants voice and tale to one of the many overlooked and forgotten female characters from Norse Mythology.
And the female entity she depicts is neither Goddess, nor Valkyrie, and isn't quite Jotun/Giant either.
The character of Gullveig Heid, who then switches identity and name to be Angrbroda, is very much like a gender opposite of Loki.
She is an outsider, she has skills and powers the Gods and Goddesses lack (and thus are wanted in this case not just by Odin but by Freya herself).
Because she is an outsider, does not belong in either Aesir or Vanir clans, she is abused, deceived, and they do in fact try to destory her - three times as part of her origin story which reflects that found in old norse texts, but again within this new narrative, which fills the unfortunate and shameful void in her tale - for she is never named again in the myths after escaping the fires Odin kept burning her with.
It is this gap in the norse cannon so to speak that allowed Genevieve the creativity to also grant a voice to the character of Angrbroda who is named much later in the rise and fall of the Gods. Gullveig is in their early days of glory, Angrbroda appears nearer the unavoidable collapse of their power and indeed the world.
The world Genevieve builds around Gullveig/Angrbroda is rich not just in how the terrain of the godly realm maps with that of the Jotun/Giants but also with the mortal realm of Midgard. It has a natural quality to it that did have me wondering why the gods ever needed Bifrost if everywhere could be reached on foot, albeit lots of walking would be required.
The protagonist character herself, has a deep velvety richness, the reader easily gets an understanding of the longevity of Gullveig/Angrobroda's life from the way she views the worlds and her place in it, her connection to other characters, places and her particular magical talents that few want and none can replicate without being taught firstly by her.
Genevieve masterfully weaves events from the cannon of mythology around Gullveig/Angrbroda's chosen reclusive lifestyle, her on and off again relationship with Loki, her natural kinship with Jotun/Giants such as Skadi. It offers readers a unique insight not just into Loki as the anti-hero of today, but also of how the actions of the Gods lead to the consequences of Ragnarok, firslty by Loki's actions but also that of Gullveig/Angrbroda's famous "monster" children - Hel, born half-dead, Fenrir, born a wolf, and Jorumgand, born a snake.
As I mentioned earlier, Loki may have been turned "bad" due to the abuse and maniuplation he received via Odin and others - Gullveig/Angrbroda and her children, equally were mistreated eventually at some point in the legends and collectively they all play big parts in the fall and demise of the Gods.
Yet Genevieve does not end Gullveig/Angrbroda as an arch-nemesis for Odin - she resolves this tale of ultimate distruction with a very strong and relatable core of a Mother trying to reconnect and protect her children after being torn violently apart and rendered helpless by her abusers. And is it that aspect with which her tale ends, as that of a Mother, not a witch.
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