Yatterings

Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants (Amazon) is a fine novella published for the World Book Day and is a delightful little read though perhaps not his best children’s novella.

Odd is a strange child, and when his father is dies rescuing a pony, flees into the forest where he is woken up by some talking animals. He discovers that they are Loki, Thor and Odin transformed into animal form. They have been thrown out of Asgard by the Frost Giants who were cheated by Loki out of their payment. Odd finds himself travelling to Asgard to restore the balance.

Gaiman returns to one of the strongest themes in his children’s writing, that the child protagonist grows up through their experiences. These no doubt change them and lead them to finding what really matters. Coraline works out that she doesn’t want  everything that she can get from the Other Mother and similarly Odd comes to a conclusion about his own situation. He grows up on so many levels.

The deft touch with the world of the gods, mirroring faerie lore, highlights the world and intagliates it so delicately. With the talking animals, the influence of John Masefield comes through (Midnight Folk more than Box of Delights).

This feels like a whimsy in comparison to what Gaiman is capable of. The illustrations by Mark Buckingham complete this delightful diversion.