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jenmcmaynes's review against another edition
3.0
In preparation for my trip to Iceland, I picked up this book by Icelandic author Sjon. And discovered, oops!, it isn’t actually set in Iceland but on a Scandinavian cargo boat, and the plot revolves around Greek mythology. Oh well, it was different from most English language fiction and interesting, though not amazing. It is basically a “story within a story within a story” tale. A cranky, eccentric Icelander is traveling on a 1940s-era cargo ship; each night, the crew listens to tales of the second mate, Caeneus, who tells of his time on the Argo with Jason. Sometimes, characters in Caeneus’ story tell Norwegian folk tales. There is a bit of humor in the narrator, who is eccentric and often misses the point of those around him and the tales. And I guess the point of the story has something to do with the universality of myths? But it all felt very slight to me and I was expecting a bigger pay off at the end. So, not terribly but not great.
thekqy's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not sure what to make of this unusual book. Its combination of various mythical tales felt almost like a bedtime story. There were some points that were put in but never explained, and I can’t decide if I liked this or not. I liked the way it was told in snippets with a main perspective and then a speech or a song or a tale. A fun and quick to read, sort of reminded me of a Studio Ghibli movie like Spirited Away.
jelundberg's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this. Probably the most accessible of his English-translated books, with some excellent mixing of Greek mythology into a post-WWII nautical voyage. Some wonderfully strange and surreal moments.
caramm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
capturethemoon's review against another edition
5.0
A brief, poetic tale set in postwar Scandinavia. The story deftly weaves elements of Greek mythology and an account of a sea voyage into a coherent, if not engaging, narrative.
bpello2020's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
iok_'s review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
katykat3's review against another edition
4.0
What a delightful story. I was a little skeptical when I started, and wasn't sure how much I would like it. Once I got in about thirty pages and Caenus started telling his story, I was hooked; I had to know what would happen! I thought it strange that all the passengers on the stop took his story at face value, and no one thought it was strange, and everyone seemed to believe him. I'm only sad the story didn't go on longer than it did. I also don't know if I completely understood the characters and their motivations, but I'm sure more could be gained from this novel with rereading it.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway
s_ja's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Strongly disliked the racist views of the protagonist which were never criticized or otherwise investigated. Also found many of the topics to be uninteresting and of a bad nature. The writing was decent. The storyline was not what was expected and dull.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence