If you travel to Norway or become familiar with Norse mythology, you will come across these kind-of-scary, kind-of-cute beings called “Trolls” and their tales. It is therefore natural to be curious about these tales and that is why I picked up “Troll”, though in somewhat of a hurry. That turned out to be a mistake.
This book is an English translation of a Norwegian book that showcases some of the work of Theodor Kittelsen, a famous Norwegian artist, as edited by Per Erik Borge. There are small excerpts from the corresponding Troll-tale alongside each artwork, but that’s about it - you will not actually get to read a Troll-tale from start to finish. This is frustrating and was a huge disappointment to me as I was actually looking forward to read some Troll-tales.
There should definitely be a disclaimer from the publisher on the cover of this book saying that these are not actually Troll-tales, but a collection of the artwork of an artist famous for drawing them. Otherwise they are simply being irresponsible to the casual book-reader or tourist.
The book that I should have actually read is the classic “Norwegian Folktales” by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, which was famously illustrated by Theodor Kittelsen, the artist featured in this book.
Beware!