'When a banished witch falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki, she risks the wrath of the gods in this moving, subversive debut novel that reimagines Norse mythology.
'Angrboda's story begins where most witches' tales end: with a burning. A punishment from Odin for refusing to provide him with knowledge of the future, the fire leaves Angrboda injured and powerless, and she flees into the farthest reaches of a remote forest. There she is found by a man who reveals himself to be Loki, and her initial distrust of him transforms into a deep and abiding love.
'Their union produces three unusual children, each with a secret destiny, who Angrboda is keen to raise at the edge of the world, safely hidden from Odin's all-seeing eye. But as Angrboda slowly recovers her prophetic powers, she learns that her blissful life—and possibly all of existence—is in danger.
'With help from the fierce huntress Skadi, with whom she shares a growing bond, Angrboda must choose whether she’ll accept the fate that she's foreseen for her beloved family…or rise to remake their future. From the most ancient of tales this novel forges a story of love, loss, and hope for the modern age.'
Considering how well known the trickster god Loki is (even before the popularity of the Marvel Comics version of the character), as well as his three unusual children, it's pretty astonishing that the woman who births the goddess of death, the giant wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jormungand is relegated to a single mention in the Poetic Edda. With such an important figure left largely unexplored it's territory ripe for storytelling, and Genevieve Gornichec not only tells a story worthy of the Norse gods, but one that ends up being a truly astonishing debut novel.
The book begins at the death of the witch Gullveig, who is impaled on spears, has her heart removed, and is burnt to death. Well, burnt to death three times, as the woman refuses to stay dead. Having managed to flee the halls of Odin, the god who ordered her multiple executions, she has travelled across the nine worlds to the Ironwoods, a barren and lonely place. It's whilst she's here, burnt, alone, that she's approached by a man carrying a heart, the heart that was ripped from her by the gods. This man, Loki, returns her heart to her, and the two of them strike up an unlikely friendship.
Over the years Gullveig, now calling herself Angrboda, settles in a small cave deep within the Ironwoods. It's here that she heals and begins to forge a new life for herself, even making friends with Skadi, a huntress who sometimes ventures into the desolate forest. With the help of Skadi, and the occasional visit of Loki, Angrboda finds happiness in her new home. Her cave becomes a real home, she begins to grow plants and raise goats, and even uses her skills to brew potions and healing salves that Skadi trades for her in the surrounding towns and villages.
Despite being happy with her life things change when she and Loki grow close, and the two of them choose to marry. Despite having to spend much of his time in Asgard, the kingdom of the gods, he and Angrboda seem happy, and soon expect their first child. Unfortunately, when something goes wrong during the pregnancy Angrboda uses her powers to save her child, with some unfortunate results. Not only is her daughter, Hel, born with dead legs that require constant healing, but Angrboda feels a dark presence creeping into her mind. Despite this, she and Loki continue with their life, and their family grows even more with their two sons; though these are even stranger than their daughter. Despite their son Fenrir being born a wolf, and Jormungand a snake, they're happy.
This all change when Odin, the presence that has been haunting her, learns that Angrboda is alive, and seeks her out for her powers to see the future. When she sees a vision of the end of everything, of the death of the gods and the destruction of the nine worlds her entire life, and her family, are put at risk.
The story of The Witch's Heart is, much like the mythology it takes its inspiration from, pretty epic. I don't like to use that word lightly, but this is a book that definitely deserves it. The story takes place over countless years, hundreds or even thousands. The characters are more than human, they live for lifetimes longer than we could, and command powers and abilities that are astonishing to say the least; and the story deals with destruction and rebirth on a galactic scale.
Despite all of this, despite the sheer vastness of the story and the mythology at play here the book is such a personal story it's astonishing Gornichec was able to pull it off. It's one thing to write a story about the origins of Ragnarok, about the deaths of hugely powerful gods and giant monsters, but to centre it all through the life and experience of one woman, one incredibly human and empathetic woman is nothing if not sublime and wonderful.
Angrboda is, despite being a thousands of years old un-killable witch, a woman who simply want to live her life with her family in peace. The entire book is told through her perspective, her experiences, and we get to see these huge, wondrous things through a woman I feel we can all identify with. Despite all the power at her command she simply wants to be left alone, to not be a pawn in the game of gods, and to experience peace with her family. The best parts of the books are the quite moments where we get to experience this, whether it's her and Loki falling in love, the love she gives to her three children, and the ways her relationship with Skadi changes and evolves. It's an odd thing to say, but a book that deals with gods, monsters, giants, and other beings from mythology is one of the most human stories I've ever read. Everything Angrboda chooses to do comes from her emotions, from her loves and desires.
She's not the only person in the book to receive this kind of treatment, though, as several figures from Norse mythology make appearances throughout the narrative and get given some incredible characterisation. Whilst I loved the way Gornichec wrote Loki and Hel in this book my favours were probably Skadi and Fenrir. Skadi, the god of bow-hunting, winter, and skiing, is a figure that I'd not come across before this book, and as such didn't really have any expectations of what she'd be like or how her story would play out. Her friendship with Angrboda is a huge highlight, and getting to see how it goes from strength to strength over the years, and how the major developments in the plot alter the courses of their lives and interactions together is truly wonderful. Fenrir is fairly different, as he's a figure I was more familiar with than many others who appear in the book, though this was fairly limited to him being a giant wolf and the role he'd play in Ragnarok. Where most stories that feature him either have him as an antagonistic figure, or simply a wild beast, Gornichec breathes so much life into him, and makes his childhood and his development one of the things I became most invested in. He was transformed from a vicious, almost evil character in my mind into a tragic figure, a child who cares deeply for his family but is put into horrible situations by the gods of Asgard.
The Witch's Heart is a story that deals with huge things, that takes myths and legends that have survived for centuries, and turns it into a personal and human driven tale of love, loss, and the desperate lengths that people are willing to go to to protect their families.
If you know about the myths that this book is based upon you'll like it because it breathes more life and character into them than I've seen done elsewhere; and if you know nothing about Norse mythology you'll be able to pick this book up and get lost in the drama and the amazing, wonderful characters.
Like I said earlier in this review, this is a debut novel, and it's an absolutely stunning one. There are authors who have been writing for decades who don't bring as much depth and realness to their character or stories as Genevieve Gornichec does here; and it's an even bigger achievement when you remember that these aren't even her own characters. She's taken figures that have existed for generations and made them feel new, wholly original, and oh so real. That takes an astonishing level of talent. I don't know what she's planning on writing next, but if it's even half as good as this book it's going to be amazing. This is definitely a writer you need to keep an eye on.
This sounds like a really awesome book! I'm definitely going to add it to my TBR list. Thank you for the review!
ReplyDeleteIt's such a good read, I'm glad you're adding it to your tbr.
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