by Neil Gaiman, 117 pagesAfter he loses his father on a raiding party, Odd runs away from his cabin-fever-stricken, snowbound village. But his plans of independent living are interrupted by a trio of curious beings who may or may not be what they appear to be. Having nothing better to do, clever Odd is quickly drawn into their unique predicament and the world behind the world he's known all his life.
Gaiman is a favorite author of mine, whether writing scary cool things for grown-ups or spooky cool things for kids, and Odd's brief little adventure tale is a fitting accompaniment to the wintry cold outside our own windows just now. Also, it pleased me to no end to find that Odd's name comes from the same root (meaning "tip of the spear") as my family name. Hmmm. Perhaps I should pack up some salted salmon and an axe and head off into the woods, myself. Oh, wait. It's cold out there!
I enjoyed this book of Neil's as well. Coming from Minnesota, I know what cold feels like! Half of my family is Scandinavian (well, maybe more than half...those Vikings did visit Ireland after all) so the story resonated with me. Luckily I read this in the summer!
ReplyDeleteThis would make a nice animated feature.
Ooh, you're right, it totally would! They need to get on that. :)
ReplyDelete