NEIL GAIMAN
The author—who’s been
threading Norse myths
through his work, including
The Sandman andAmerican
Gods, for more than 30
years—has published a mod-
ern retelling of his favorites.
BY NIVEA SERRAOWhy put a fresh spin on these myths?
Mythologies tell us about being
human. They are glorious, they are
timeless. They needto be retold.
It’s like I’m a musician looking at fan-
tastic old folk songs and doing
a covers album, trying to get them to
sound contemporary using electric
guitars. I’m saying, “Here are the
stories. I have polished them, and
I am now handing them to the world.”Why did you give the tales—especially
the dialogue—a current-day spin?
Dialogue can make stories feel dated.
So I thought, “Let’s make them talk
as if they exist right now.” If in 80 years
some kid picks upNorse Mythology
and goes, “We really need a contem-
porary version of this—it’s so weird
and old-fashioned,” that would be fine
by me. When you’re retelling stories,
you’re retelling them foryour people.Your famous “Make Good Art”
speech, which you gave at the Univer-
sity of the Arts in 2012, seems
very relevant in this political climate.
One of the things most heartening
for me is that every time there is
a calamitous event, my Twitter feed
floods with people saying, “What Neil
said at times like this is ‘Make good
art.’ ” It’s easy to think art can be a dis-
traction. I don’t think it is. It’s a lifeline.(^5) 3 QUESTIONS FOR
TENDER
BELINDA MCKEON
Set in 1990s Dublin, McKeon’s immersive coming-
of-age college novel explores the friendship
between Catherine, who’s new to big-city life,
and James, who’s wrestling with his sexuality.
6
SKELETON CREW
STEPHEN KING
This reissued 1985 short-story collection from
the master of modern horror will make you
even more wary of supermarkets, attics, cars,
lakes—basically, life itself. Enjoy!
7
THE CROOKED HOUSE
CHRISTOBEL KENT
In Kent’s menace-laden psychological thriller,
a young woman returns to the village where the
rest of her family was slaughtered years ago—
and soon some very bad things begin to happen.
8
RISE OF THE ROCKET GIRLS
NATHALIA HOLT
IfHidden Figureshas you itching to learn
more about the women who worked in
the space program, pick up Holt’s lively,
immensely readable history.
9
THE SYMPATHIZER
VIET THANH NGUYEN
Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning chronicle of
a half-Vietnamese, half-French double agent is
both a riveting spy novel and a study in identity.
10
FORTY THIEVES
THOMAS PERRY
With a rat-a-tat plot that’s as violent as a video-
game, Perry follows two couples—one a pair of
ex–LAPD officers and the other assassins-for-
hire—who work opposite sides of the samecase.
GAIMAN: BEOWULF SHEEHAN FEBRUARY 24/MARCH 3, 2017 EW.COM 101