86 pages 2 hours read

Neil Gaiman

Norse Mythology

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Stories 9-12

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Story 9 Summary: “Thor’s Journey to the Land of the Giants”

Siblings Thialfi and Roskva live with their parents at the edge of the wild country. Thialfi can run faster than anything. Thor and Loki arrive, expecting lodging. When the family explains that they do not have sufficient food, Thor kills his own goats and cooks them. Loki tells Thialfi that the goats’ bone marrow is the best thing a young man can eat, but Thor refuses to share. Curious, Thialfi slyly splits open a bone and tries it. The next day, Thor resurrects his goats; Snarler is fine, but Grinder now has a broken leg.

Thor is furious. Thialfi appeases him by offering to be his bondservant; Roskva goes with them. The party moves into Jotunheim, the land of the giants. Loki finds a huge building with only one room and they make camp. When Thor investigates some loud noises, he finds the biggest person he had ever seen, sleeping.

The giant wakes and introduces himself as Skrymir. It turns out that the “building” they found was one of his mittens. He picks it up and Thialfi and Loki tumble out. Skrymir offers to travel with them. He puts the group’s provisions in his bag. When the giant falls asleep, even Thor cannot undo the bag’s lacing.

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