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kaydot's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
mvanhar's review
4.0
Interesting story with good pacing, moving between telling of a fable to living in it's own adventure. A book that continues to hold a sense of wonder post reading.
sanjastajdohar's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 This was a confusing book, even for Sjon. Most of it I could follow, but at times it drolled on. The ending, as in most of his novels, is a bit weird, to say it mildly, but not without humor. So, I'm perplexed. I enjoyed the mythological parts, though, it was well woven in the story.
upsidedownything's review against another edition
3.0
Odd and rambly in the ways I like; weirdly archaic in ways I don’t. Pleasantly surreal, and shot through with mythos
theelazyyonee's review
5.0
This is my 1st time reading a book by this author. An I thoroughly enjoyed the story, a glorious page turner indeed. I now want to read all the other works by this author :)
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
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.