Customer Reviews

Land of Wooden Gods (Modern Scandinavian Literature in Translation)

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The Holme Trilogy is really interesting, because in this Viking saga, the traditional warrior isn't the hero...his slave (thrall) Holme is. The book begins with a woman thrall, Ausi, giving birth to Holme's child after he raped her. (It seems that virtually every sexual relationship begins with/is always by rape.) The Viking chieftan of the settlement orders that the baby be abandoned to die in the woods, but Holme rescues the child (an unheard of act). He, Ausi & the child flee into the woods, living in a cave for a while. They later relocate outside a trading city on an island. The book has virtually no dialogue in it, and is interesting because the book shifts from blind narration to a "stream of consciousness" perspective from the characters even in the midst of a paragraph. The author does a brilliant job of setting the scenes & describing things in great detail. The book is filled with beautiful, haunting & terrifying imagry. Much like many of the works of Knut Hamsun, this is an "unromantic romance." The book grabbed my attention early on & held it fast. It's a wonderful story & a brilliant work of art. I can't wait to start reading part two later tonight. Get this!