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A. S. Byatt
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Ragnarok: The End of the Gods Hardcover – January 1, 2011

by A S Byatt (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 327 ratings
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Canongate Books Ltd
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    5.75 x 0.83 x 8.62 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1847670644
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1847670649
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Canongate Books Ltd; F First Edition (January 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1847670644
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1847670649
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.83 x 8.62 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 327 ratings

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A. S. Byatt

A. S. Byatt

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
327 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

G. Poole
5.0 out of 5 stars Byatt again shows craftsmanship
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2014
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A. S. Byatt is one of the most original and genius authors of The U.K. Her work, such as with this novella, demonstrates a compleat mastery of her subject, material, as well as the ability to challenge the reader to think about complex ideas be it Victorian literature or the role in which Norse Mythology has played in the direction of world literature. With this work, Byatt draws our attention toward a body of myths often overlooked by usual Greco/Roman Gods. In reading this book, the reader begins to think about ancient British people or, the Danelaw, and if it really did fade away.
8 people found this helpful
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R. Basley
4.0 out of 5 stars My daughter and I liked the Audio book
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2014
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My daughter is the one who has done the most reading on Norse mythology so she took exception to how the gods were presented especially since the author fully admitted she didn't believe in them just liked the myth. However, other than listening to my daughter complain about the parts that didn't match up with her readings of the mythos. It was well writing, keep the reader's interest, and would be a good thing for someone who only had a passing interest in Norse Mythology.
3 people found this helpful
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Jeffrey R. Myers
3.0 out of 5 stars We---written but...
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2014
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This is an interesting and very well-written book about Norse mythology. I think it suffers, however, from an identity crisis. It's too poetic for a textbook to teach the myths to an audience unfamiliar with them. On the other hand, its not literary enough to create engaging characters. It is especially unfortunate that the young woman through whose eyes we see the myths (clearly the author) is not developed enough to be engaging. And while Byatt distinguishes characters in myth by their lack of character, since Homer such mythic beings have been provided with character to make them come alive, something she refuses to do. As a result, this book is neither fish nor fowl, and the mixture we get lacks the best of both--the clarity of the textbook or the imaginative fire of literature.
18 people found this helpful
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m.seraglia null null
5.0 out of 5 stars a well written book for the young of heart
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2013
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very well written.good topic'. fluent and well developed tale. uncertain at what type of reader is directed,but will be enjoyed by all young of heart . the northern saga has been told before but never so clearly and entertainigly. Borges :Myst,Gods,and Heroes is more informative but less enthralling.
One person found this helpful
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Michael Maiello
5.0 out of 5 stars A splendid recollection of forgotten stories.
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2018
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Told with wit and love and fear and regret. This is what separates myth from mere allegory and this short boom is both a delight and a warning.
2 people found this helpful
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S. H. Wells
4.0 out of 5 stars A Thin Child in Wartime
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019
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A thin child in wartime reading her favorite book about Norse Gods frames Byatt’s narrative telling of the myth of Ragnarok. It is a familiar myth. I had read about it as a child myself, and more recently in Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. Byatt’s version is more personal and visceral than Gaiman’s. There is also something in Byatt’s version that relishes the Fenris wolf and the world snake, and maybe even admires a little the inevitable and catastrophic end of the gods and of all things.

The myth is followed by a short meditation on the challenges and differences between fairy tales, myths, and novels that I also found interesting. Byatt gives readers some direction into choices taken and not taken in the telling.

This was a great telling of the myth, even if the thin child in wartime broke into the story a few too many times
10 people found this helpful
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David Fish
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2016
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Not much story there... I respect the author but would steer readers to other projects.
2 people found this helpful
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Liz Booker
5.0 out of 5 stars This exploration of Nordic folklore is a triumph, as ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2016
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This exploration of Nordic folklore is a triumph, as every A. S. Byatt book is if you're a fan, which I am.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bettyjane Wylie
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2014
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I love A.S. Byatt. Haven't read this one yet, though.
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Old_Hat
5.0 out of 5 stars Byatt has create a beautifully elegant envelope within which to both tell the Norse ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2014
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Byatt has create a beautifully elegant envelope within which to both tell the Norse apocalypse with vivid depth and to explore with a light and subtle touch the psychological relevance of old myth to the modern mind.
The passages about the Thin Girl (the wartime protagonist of the stories modern sections) never feel like they are weighing down the mythology and never go on for long. Instead they elevate your experience of the stories of old gods with insights into the ways they can infiltrate our experience of the world now (I realise this might seem at odds to her story being set during WW2 but i feel that that is modern enough to allow one to extrapolate).
The real treat for me though was in the swift and detailed telling of the Norse mythos. The flowing prose poetry of some of the mythological stories is so perfectly weighted - both immersive and cerebral.
I frequently found myself grinning with delight and fulled with mind nourishment.
3 people found this helpful
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V. G. Harwood
4.0 out of 5 stars Ecocritical reading of the end of the Gods
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2015
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I picked this up after reading Byatt's Possession. This is a much smaller book and I read it in around an hour, so it's only a quick read. It is one in the Canongate Myths series (I think Atwood's Penelopiad is also part of this series) and features the story of the excesses and end of the Norse Gods. Featuring the trickster Loki, Gods, Thor and Odin (characters I'm ashamed to admit, I was only familiar with through the Marvel stories), the book relates the traditional stories behind these Gods and - considering their excesses - their inevitable end.

I loved the ecological message in the text - and Byatt's reading of this into the stories of the myths. I also loved the "thin child" who is so influenced by the stories, and who is clearly Byatt herself. This is a lovely quick read - particularly if you are interested in ecocriticism at all. Definitely recommend it.
One person found this helpful
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Pensato
5.0 out of 5 stars The power of myth
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 8, 2012
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What a glorious read - one of those rare books where you revel in the author's joy of words, the visceral qualities having an almost physical impact on my reading experience.

Not so much a book of Norse mythology (although her descriptions are brilliant and profound - the tragedy of Lit, the dwarf in the wrong place at the wrong time, the impotence of even a goddess to bring her son back from the dead)but about the impact these myths had on one particular girl in a very particular time.

Would happily have had the book at twice the length.
2 people found this helpful
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remodeller
3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful but unsettling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2021
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I had not read AS Byatt before, and found this a beautifully rich story. The tale of a young girl evacuated to the countryside finding solace in the landscape and tales of the Norse gods runs parallel to the telling of those Norse myths.
The story has a beginning (before the war), a middle (during the evacuation) and an end (the return of peace) but jarringly, does not have a happy ending even though the girl returns home and her much loved father survives the war and thrives after it. Both the girl and her mother find the return to 'normal' life humdrum and confining after the freedom and uncertainty of war - possibly a reflection on how the upheaval of war can open new vistas, but also the girl seems to delight in the idea of nothingness that the tale of Ragnarok ends in, and seems frustrated that the war does not end the same way..
I was unsure what, if anything, I was to take way from the story, other than that the thought of there being an end to all things is not necessarily troubling to everyone - indeed, it could be seen as preferable to a humdrum existence, as we see the thin child's mother decline after her rich experiences in the war, even as the father prospers.
I found AS Byatt's writing similarly jarring - beautiful in most places, but frustrating and jagged when little-used words appeared and stopped the flow of the story for me. And I have a good command of English, so for many people it would make for an infuriatingly staccato read. Not having seen anything else by her, I don't know if that was deliberate and evidence of her genius, or the kind of words she normally uses and she is happy for her work to be impenetrable to many.

So I am giving this a three for now, and WILL read some more of her work at some time - If necessary I will come back and revise that score.
One person found this helpful
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