One of the things I was absolutely obsessed with as a kid was mythology and folklore of any kind. If it had to do with old-time gods and impossibly perfect heroes and heroines, I would be drawn to it. Things like Hercules had be as excited as the muses.
So, obviously, the moment I heard about the Canongate Myth Series, I jumped on it. Conceived in 1999, the project aimed to have authors rewrite a myth in a series of short novels. The first books of this series came out in 2005 with Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth, followed by seventeen more, the last of which was released in 2013. The full list of books in the series, in order of publication, is as follows:
- A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong
- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
- Weight by Jeanette Winterson
- The Helmet of Horror by Victor Pelevin
- Lion’s Honey by David Grossman
- Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith
- Anna In and the Tombs of the World by Olga Tokarczuk
- Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith
- Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong
- Where Three Roads Meet by Salley Vickers
- Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravaka Ugrešić
- The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber
- The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
- Orphans of Eldorado by Milton Hatoum
- The Hurricane Party by Klas Östergren
- The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Phillip Pullman
- Ragnarok: The End of Gods by A. S. Byatt
- The Song of King Gesar by Alai
Spanning different myths of different cultures and authors of diverse backgrounds, this project is bold and ambitious, but moreover an important move in the literary circle in recognizing the need for change and new voices in literature, even if they are telling the same stories.
But what makes myths so interesting is that they are often an important feature of every culture. Greek myths have been at the center of much of the history, just as much as Norse mythology is of Viking history. Similarly, pagan gods are often elements of mythology just as much as they are foundations of religion.
One can argue that they are inaccurate historical accounts, but very often myths function as manifestations of psychological truths, rather than historical.
And while mythology and folklore differ around the world, all cultures have them in some way which makes it a global feature worth looking at.
For the next couple of months, I plan to read all 18 short novels and with each book read, a book review will be written. I will look at the origins of the myths and how they have been changed and what the potential value of changing them in that way may be.
Stay tuned for the first review coming soon!
~ S ~
