Chris' Fish Place

I picked this up because of the illustration by Bauer on the cover. 

                Lindow’s book is a survey of trolls and their place in Scandinavian folklore and literature.  It is not in depth, but it is worth reading.  What makes the book interesting is the discussion of the idea of trolls and where the idea came from.  Lindow suggests that the word was used to denote the other – including Inuit tribes that the Scandinavians came into connect with.  This is a particularly interesting idea that seems to have legs, and I wish that Lindow had spent more time on it.  I’ve read a fair amount of Scandinavian folklore so know the idea of a Lap or a Finn being a witch.  Lindow does draw connections between these groups and trolls as well, but like with the Inuit section, I wish there had been more meat on those bones.

                What is particularly interesting is the connection that Lindow really makes (and believably makes) between trolls and the zombies.  He makes an interesting connection between troll appearances and decomposition.  This very much like Paul Barber’s thesis of the vampire as decomposition explained.  This section was very interesting, and quite frankly, worth the price of the book.

                After leaving the chapters on Medieval and folklore trolls, Lindow looks at trolls in fairy stories.  If you like Asbjornsen and Moe, this chapter is of particular interest, not just into eh discussion of various illustrations but also in the significant details that Asbjornsen gave to the trolls in his collections.  Equal time is spent on the writers and on the illustrators.  The last two chapters deal with modern literature – you will buy at least one book – as well as the movie Trollhunter, and finally, those troll dolls.  The conclusion deals with the use of the word troll and the internet.  Lindow feels that the folklore trolls are getting the short end of the stick in this regard, and he is right.

                In short, while some parts of the book could be more in depth, this is worth a read if you like folklore.