Brisingamen

Diana L. Paxson

1/3/1999

About half way through this book I had to stop and do a web search. This novel is steeped in Norse mythology, and my knowledge of Norse mythology is limited. (In fact, if I hadn't seen those Hercules episodes earlier this year when Herc travelled to Norway, I wouldn't even know that Loki is the Norse god to beware.)

Brisingamen is the name of the gold necklace worn and protected by the Norse goddess Freyja. Over the years it has been passed down from daughter to daughter to keep it safe from Loki and other bad spirits. It finally disappeared.

Karen Ingold works as a graduate student for a professor who is knowledgeable in Norse literature. He receives an old wood chest from a friend and Karen offers to refurbish it. Hidden in it she found pieces of gold that she was able to fashion back into its original necklace.

The professor tells her to keep the necklace. He is very happy with the wooden box. As Karen starts wearing it, odd things start happening to her. She finds herself outside of herself looking at another woman. A man driving by suddenly tries to run her over. She finds herself overcoming her shyness and doing things she would not have done before.

I found this book riveting, yet it is not one I would recommend to everybody. It gets very mystic throughout and there are some scary violent scenes. I did learn more about my Norse history while reading it, and the mood of the book matches the violence associated with the Norse gods.

Although this one is currently out of print, has other books by Paxson.