Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

I rarely take much note of opening sentences, but this book has one of the best I've ever come across: 

There was a boy called Odd, and there was nothing strange or unusual about that, not in that time or place.  Odd meant the tip of a blade, and it was a lucky name.

He was odd, though.  At least, the other villagers thought so.  But if there was one thing that he wasn't, it was lucky.

Is that a great set-up or what?  As the opening paragraph states, Odd is a boy living in a Viking village.  He has one lame leg and an infuriating smile, and at the end of one very long winter he decides to go off on his own to his father's hut in the woods.  There he meets a bear, a fox, and an eagle, and has many adventures.

This a great piece of storytelling, and I was continually surprised by the problems Odd encountered and how he surpassed them.  One of Odd's most unusual characteristics is that he doesn't let things bother him.  And even when they do, he just smiles.  I think this trait of Odd's is the most striking part of the book:  Odd has gone through a lot of crap--losing his dad, breaking his leg, being an outcast in his village, and then this adventure.  Through it all, Odd maintains his cool demeanor, even as the reader empathizes deeply with his losses and challenges.

I think this marks Odd as extraordinary because learning not to let bad things affect you--or at the very least affect your outward demeanor--and thinking through situations instead of just reacting to them is something we learn to do as adults (hopefully).  But for Odd, it's part of his essential make-up.  Even though he is a child, he's more of an adult than anyone in his village or even the beings he meets in the forest.  It's not until he leaves the village for the forest and then returns, that anyone realizes this, however.

Does this mean Odd doesn't change during the course of the book?  No.  He discovers new ways to see his parents and he finds out what makes us human.

This is a very short, entertaining little gem of a book I highly recommend.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Friday Fragment: Odd and the Frost Giants

Friday Fragment is a meme hosted James at Book Chic Club.  Every Friday, you read an excerpt from a book and post it so other people can hear it!  It's really fun.

This week I'm reading from Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman.  I hope you like it!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Traumatic Reading

Au Booking Through Thursday:

Which is worse?

Finding a book you love and then hating everything else you try by that author, or

Reading a completely disappointing book by an author that you love?

The latter has happened to me too many times to count.  As I've mentioned before, I can hate just about anything if I'm in the right mood.  It also seems like some authors have split personalities, so sometimes they write books just up my alley, and other times they write books that to me seem laaaaaaame.



Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of those writers to me.  Actually, I can pretty much predict whether or not I'll like her latest book based on whether or not I liked the previous one:  it seems to alternate fairly regularly.  Since I'm used to it by now, I'm not really that upset when I don't like one of her books.



Then there are other authors that I usually just adore.  When they publish something I dislike, I get really upset.  For example, Sandy Hingston (who of course isn't writing anymore because she actually wrote books I liked) was one of my favorite writers.  But she wrote this one book, The Lover's Charm, that I absolutely hated.  So I wrote a scathing review of it on Amazon.  Then, one time I met her and I was like, "I've loved every single book you've ever written, you're my favorite writer eva!" etc. etc.; and she said, "Wasn't there one book of mine you didn't like?"  <----GASP!  How did she know???

So that's another example of why one should think about censoring one's remarks when writing book reviews.



Anyway, I think being disappointed by an author you love is worse than finding a book I love by someone and hating all of their other stuff.  You have more invested in an author you love--you get excited about their new release, you bump all the books in your TBR pile so you can read their new release next, etc.  You go out of your way to read their books, so if the book is disappointing, it's more of a let-down. 

I haven't had all that many authors write just one book that I liked, except perhaps Neil Gaiman.  I loved Neverwhere, but when I went to read Stardust, I hated it.  That was a bit of a let-down, I have to admit, especially since Stardust seemed like it would be right up my alley.  I have to admit I haven't picked up a Neil Gaiman novel since; whereas I did continue to buy books by Sandy Hingston--and Sherrilyn Kenyon--after their books disappointed me.  So maybe I'm actually wrong and finding a book I love, then hating everything else by that author, is more traumatic for me.  I just block those instances out of my mind and try to move on.

Powered by ScribeFire.