This week’s Fun Fact Friday is really more of a book review. Recently at a used book store, I ran across Karen Armstrong’s A Short History of Myth, which is–as promised!–a quick and comprehensive read about the effect of mythology on human culture (and vice versa).
Now, despite being billed as “hugely readable,” this book is definitely academic. And for the less nerdy among us (okay, for everyone who’s indulging my nerdy whims!), I won’t go into all the details. I just want to highlight one line:
A novel, like a myth, teaches us to see the world differently;
it shows us how to look into our own hearts
and to see our world from a perspective that goes beyond our own self-interest.
Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth, p149
As we change, our stories change; and sometimes, our stories change us. I have always felt this very deeply, and so I must admit I enjoyed this book mostly because it supported notions I had already supposed. 😉 Really, I can’t put it much better than Armstrong does in the quote above.
I like drawing on myths and fairy tales of all kinds for my writing. The fun thing about living in such a globalized world now is that there’s always more myths to explore (my to-be-read pile includes everything from Himalayan to Yiddish to modern “fierce” compilations of tales). Of course, we also have to be careful about being respectful of others, and of other cultures–that’s something that’s always on my mind. But I think sharing stories is still such an innate way of connecting, and making a step towards understanding someone else.
Even if you’re not interested in the academic analyses, no matter how short or readable, I definitely encourage you to read new myths and fairy tales. You never know how much more there is to learn! 🙂
Book Info
Armstrong, Karen. A Short History of Myth. Canongate, NY: 2005.
