Book Review: "Trolls and their relatives" by Jan Bergh Eriksen

Trolls and their relatives (1988)
Jan Bergh Eriksen
Drawings by Per Aase
77 pages

Who knew that trolls have such a rich and colorful history?

Jan Bergh Eriksen’s gloriously off-beat Trolls and their relatives provides an entertaining and informative look at the origins and evolution of trolls in Norwegian folklore. His tale introduces readers to a motley crew of characters – a diverse sample of which can be seen in the drawing below, one of the many amazing illustrations from Per Aase that animate the text.

In the description of various types of trolls, and some bits of Norwegian history that Eriksen also includes, readers discover connections to the stories of other European traditions. Thus, the Draugen, a dreaded sea monster feared by the Vikings, would seem to have a close connection to the English word dragon and the phantasms associated with it. And we learn that Old Erik, a “sinister character” who collects souls and is “maybe the master of … all” trolls, was incorporated by Norwegians into their panoply of troll characters based on the concept of the devil brought by Christian missionaries to Norway.

Though at first glance Trolls and their relatives could appear to be a children’s book, it has a very European sensibility. The story and pictures are not for puritans or prudes, as a close examination of the picture above reveals; but they work wonderfully together to provide a humorous look at how deeply trolls are bound up with Norway’s culture and history.

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Other notes and information:

Based on the picture included above, one could be forgiven for thinking that, already in 1988, Per Aase managed to create a startlingly accurate visualization of what the present-day social media community too often looks like…

 

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Have you read this book, others by this author, or even similar ones by other authors? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.
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