Review: Gospel of Loki by Joanne M. Harris

With the right words you can build a world and make yourself king of it. […] After all, words are what remain when all the deeds have been done. Words can shatter faith; start a war; change the course of history. A story can make your heart beat faster; topple walls; scale mountains – hey, a story can even raise the dead. All that’s why the King of Stories ended up being King of the gods; because writing history and making history are only the breadth of a page apart.

 Meet the most unreliable narrator ever, Loki, known as Wildfire, also known as the God of Mischief. Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris is a deliciously sarcastic retelling of Norse mythology, signed by Yours Trully, the trickster-in-chief. Loki recounts the days leading to Rangarok, the End of Days, which some of you have heard will be featured in one of the upcoming Marvel films. Spoiler, in the original myths everyone dies. How did the end came about? According to Loki, the transition from dog to god is only a revolution away, and fact is, the gods of Asgard are not exactly as noble and nice as history painted them to be.

Well, that’s history for you, folks. Unfair, untrue and for the most part written by folk who weren’t even there.

 Gospel of Loki explores the short-lived nature of trust, loyalties and friendship in Asgard. The lovechild of thunder, creature of Chaos, Loki is a mischievous liar, oftentimes trying to mess things up for his fellow Asgardians just for the fun of it.Odin tricks Loki out of chaos and brings him into the world of gods and men, he has no way back, and the All-Father knows that all too well.  Even when he’s being good, he is being blamed for everything odd that happens on Asgard. Acceptance and loyalty is fleeting in the realm of the Gods.

There are, always, two sides to every story. Witty, sarcastic and wickedly intelligent bad boy of Asgard tells the story of the land of men, gods and strange creatures through a series of adventures. He is undoubtedly somewhat wicked, a liar, adulterer and yet, Loki is not the sole maker of Asgard’s downfall. Odin, Frigga, Thor, Siff… every single one of them is no less to blame.

Friendship is overrated. Who needs friends when you can have the certitudes of hostility? You know where you stand with an enemy. You know he won’t betray you. It’s the ones who claim to be your friends that you need to beware of.

Overall note: 3,5*