Why Odin Drinks sees Bjørn Larssen taking his inspiration once more from the Norse gods, a theme he previously tackled in his grimdark retelling of Norse mythology in the novel Children, which was released in 2020. This collection of stories might feature some of the same characters found in Children but it’s obvious from the cover this series has a completely different tone. The four tales found here are Creation, Loki Runes Everything, Fashionteller and The Well of Wise Dom, comprising a set of comedy novellas.

Opening with Creation, the Norse gods Odin and his brothers Ve and Vili find themselves …
somewhere … Amid a sea of confusion they have to rapidly figure out how to make the various
somethings and someones needed fill it all. The result is a comic farce as the new gods learn to god properly, indulging in a flurry of random creation mixed with total naïvety. The chaos of wolves mingling with peacocks and butterflies is but a foretaste of what happens when humans arrive on the scene – their bickering enough to drive Odin to drink (as soon as he’s figured out how to create wine).

Each instalment is a swift read and that’s a good thing. The problem with a humorous book is the joke can wear a bit thin after a while. Larssen knows when to stop, leaving the reader wanting more and also giving them something to think about when each story is over. Every page is packed with fun ideas, snappy one-liners and comedic situations. Blink and you’ll miss a bus load. Some are subtle, while at other times Larssen indulges in broad brush toilet gags and sexual humour. There were points where I was almost having to read Creation through a small gap between my fingers. As the series progresses, though, you see a shift and as more gods appear on the scene the interactions between the characters become more nuanced and multi-layered.

Loki Runes Everything is Larrsen’s take on Loki’s origin story and it was fun to see his character
emerge in this way, slowly taking on the attributes we’re familiar with. Fashionteller features Odin’s wife, Frigg, who is cursed with the ability to see into the future. Larrsen maximises the comedy potential here, especially Frigg’s growing frustration as Odin is unable to recreate all the wonders of the world she sees in the future because she can’t properly describe them to him. Even sweatpants with pockets is a step too far in an era when Odin and Frigg are essentially living in the stone age. Slippers are an unobtainable luxury.

With so much material at Larrsen’s disposal, I think it’s inevitable some jokes will work for some people and not for others. That’s fine, though, and it ensures Why Odin Drinks is anything but a one-joke book. It’s packed with great quotes and I had to really restrain myself from quoting everything I highlighted whilst reading the collection. These should give you a flavour:

“If music had been invented by now, it would have been ominous.”
“As man and woman bickered on their way into the still smoking woods, Odin closed his eyes
and finally invented counting to ten …”
“He painted himself into a corner, forgetting to create paint before doing so.”

Larssen also cleverly mixes in knowing pop-culture references, touches on the darker side of
humanity and doesn’t miss the opportunity to take a shot at wider issues as well:

“Who needed things that had completely no use apart from looking pretty? This nonsense
needed to stop before Vili began to insist that his “art” had some sort of value, then
demanded to be rewarded for it.”
“Thorns in feet must have been why one day someone would invent yoga mats and insist
that the position she was about to twist herself into was not only dignified, but also able to
cure many ailments. Especially when done at sunrise.”
“In the future,” Frigg said slowly, “men who use the words ‘well, actually’ when speaking to
women, will become incels.”

Fashionteller moves into darker territory by the end, something also reflected in the final story, The Well of Wise Dom. The weight of knowing the future proves a torment for Frigg and Odin’s pursuit of ultimate knowledge and power has unexpected consequences. Larrsen also finds his writing to be uncomfortably prescient of current world events:

“You need to start wars to end them. Sacrifice lives to save them.”
“The only way to stop a great army is to have an even greater army.”

Perhaps this is the most chilling exchange of all:

“When you stir wars, they’ll lead to bigger wars. The more deadly weapons one side uses, the
worse the other will invent.”
“Exactly,” Odin nodded.

Larssen is a gifted and versatile writer and he judges this collection just right. Why Odin Drinks had me laughing out loud and it’s an absolute pleasure to read. It’s the kind of book where you find yourself reading out your favourite passages to whoever happens to be sitting nearby, whether they asked you to or not! I’m not sorry. A follow up, Bloodbath & Beyond, is already in the works. If this book is anything to go by, that should be another fun and thought-provoking ride. I received an ARC of Why Odin Drinks from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.