“A surprise from the author of Chocolat,” New York Times bestselling author Joanne M. Harris, “this pacy adult fantasy is narrated by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief” (Vogue).
This novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods—retold from the point of view of the world’s ultimate trickster, Loki. A #1 bestseller in the UK, TheGospel of Loki tells the story of Loki’s recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself.
Using her lifelong passion for the Norse myths, New York Times bestseller Joanne M. Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel that the Sunday Sun recommends “to her long-standing audience with wit, style and obvious enjoyment;” The Sunday Times claims it “lively and fun;” and The Metro adds that “Harris has enormous fun with her antihero...this mythical bad boy should beguile fans of Neil Gaiman.”
**
Review
If everything you know about Loki begins and ends with the actor Tom Hiddleston, this book is for you.
Harris (Peaches for Father Francis, 2012, etc.) collects the ancient Norse myths about the trickster god—Loki’s origin in Chaos; his sworn oath of brotherhood with Odin; his endless, nasty pranks on the gods of Asgard; his torturous imprisonment; the end of the world, etc.—into a single, quippy novel in contemporary (indeed, anachronistic) speech. All Loki wants, or so he says, is to be liked, but most of the gods are against him from the very first, and so he does his best (his worst?) to live up to their expectations. The way Harris writes him, you can’t help but like him, even as he confesses to the most absurd and/or horrific deeds; well, you like him, but you wouldn’t really want to be acquainted with him—being his enemy or his friend seems equally dicey. Readers who are surprised that Harris has it in her to be so cynical and snarky are probably the same people who think the charming-veering-toward-sentimental film Chocolat was faithful to the 1999 novel, which was actually considerably darker. One has to admire the author for imposing her own take on the character: the Marvel films’ portrayal is fairly pervasive, and bestselling fantasist Neil Gaiman has had a crack at it twice (in his Sandman comic-book series and the novel American Gods).
If not exactly fresh, certainly a rich, in-depth addition to the modern mythic canon. (Kirkus Reviews)
"If everything you know about Loki begins and ends with the actor Tom Hiddleston, this book is for you.
The way Harris writes him, you can’t help but like him, even as he confesses to the most absurd and/or horrific deeds; well, you like him, but you wouldn’t really want to be acquainted with him—being his enemy or his friend seems equally dicey. One has to admire the author for imposing her own take on the character." (Kirkus Reviews)
"The Gospel of Loki is a charming novel, told with snark, wit and familiarity. Harris’s voice of Loki is an addictive thing, a pleasure to consume. While some may be most familiar with the Norse gods from the Marvel films, Harris draws the characters magnificently from their original inspirations and makes them her own." (Rob Bedford Tor.com)
About the Author
Joanne Harris (MBE) was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.
Since then, she has written fourteen more novels, two collections of short stories, and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in more than fifty countries and have won a number of British and international awards. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and has been a judge for the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science. She works from a shed in her garden, and lives with her husband and daughter in a little wood in Yorkshire.
Description:
“A surprise from the author of Chocolat,” New York Times bestselling author Joanne M. Harris, “this pacy adult fantasy is narrated by Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief” (Vogue).
This novel is a brilliant first-person narrative of the rise and fall of the Norse gods—retold from the point of view of the world’s ultimate trickster, Loki. A #1 bestseller in the UK, The Gospel of Loki tells the story of Loki’s recruitment from the underworld of Chaos, his many exploits on behalf of his one-eyed master, Odin, through to his eventual betrayal of the gods and the fall of Asgard itself.
Using her lifelong passion for the Norse myths, New York Times bestseller Joanne M. Harris has created a vibrant and powerful fantasy novel that the Sunday Sun recommends “to her long-standing audience with wit, style and obvious enjoyment;” The Sunday Times claims it “lively and fun;” and The Metro adds that “Harris has enormous fun with her antihero...this mythical bad boy should beguile fans of Neil Gaiman.”
**
Review
If everything you know about Loki begins and ends with the actor Tom Hiddleston, this book is for you.
Harris (Peaches for Father Francis, 2012, etc.) collects the ancient Norse myths about the trickster god—Loki’s origin in Chaos; his sworn oath of brotherhood with Odin; his endless, nasty pranks on the gods of Asgard; his torturous imprisonment; the end of the world, etc.—into a single, quippy novel in contemporary (indeed, anachronistic) speech. All Loki wants, or so he says, is to be liked, but most of the gods are against him from the very first, and so he does his best (his worst?) to live up to their expectations. The way Harris writes him, you can’t help but like him, even as he confesses to the most absurd and/or horrific deeds; well, you like him, but you wouldn’t really want to be acquainted with him—being his enemy or his friend seems equally dicey. Readers who are surprised that Harris has it in her to be so cynical and snarky are probably the same people who think the charming-veering-toward-sentimental film Chocolat was faithful to the 1999 novel, which was actually considerably darker. One has to admire the author for imposing her own take on the character: the Marvel films’ portrayal is fairly pervasive, and bestselling fantasist Neil Gaiman has had a crack at it twice (in his Sandman comic-book series and the novel American Gods).
If not exactly fresh, certainly a rich, in-depth addition to the modern mythic canon. (Kirkus Reviews)
"If everything you know about Loki begins and ends with the actor Tom Hiddleston, this book is for you.
The way Harris writes him, you can’t help but like him, even as he confesses to the most absurd and/or horrific deeds; well, you like him, but you wouldn’t really want to be acquainted with him—being his enemy or his friend seems equally dicey. One has to admire the author for imposing her own take on the character." (Kirkus Reviews)
"The Gospel of Loki is a charming novel, told with snark, wit and familiarity. Harris’s voice of Loki is an addictive thing, a pleasure to consume. While some may be most familiar with the Norse gods from the Marvel films, Harris draws the characters magnificently from their original inspirations and makes them her own." (Rob Bedford Tor.com)
About the Author
Joanne Harris (MBE) was born in Barnsley in 1964, of a French mother and an English father. She studied Modern and Mediaeval Languages at Cambridge and was a teacher for fifteen years, during which time she published three novels, including Chocolat (1999), which was made into an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp.
Since then, she has written fourteen more novels, two collections of short stories, and three cookbooks. Her books are now published in more than fifty countries and have won a number of British and international awards. She is an honorary Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, and has been a judge for the Whitbread Prize, the Orange Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science. She works from a shed in her garden, and lives with her husband and daughter in a little wood in Yorkshire.