Fun fantasy linking the old Norse gods to their days of the week. It is interesting to match the modern representations to their days as well as their place in the story. This is not a direct introduction to Norse mythology but might make an interesting bridge for a child.

re-read 3/21/2024 ( )

Eight Days of Luke is about a week of madcap hijinks experienced by David, a mistreated orphan, and Luke, a charming pyromaniac. It's thoroughly a kid's story -- the plot is simple and the resolution is uncomplicated -- but it does a really fabulous job of characterizing both prepubescent boys and Norse gods. David lives in a horrible household that rings more authentic than Harry Potter's exaggerated treatment at the Dursley's, and the need for a friend is evident before the affable Luke even shows up. As for Luke, Jones makes him a sympathetic character without neglecting the fact that he's destined to bring about the end of the world. He's charming and affectionate and completely amoral.

The other Norse gods eventually show up in various contemporary disguises. In particular, "Mr. Wedding" is a compelling mixture of grandfatherly guidance and steely condemnation. Thor is less interesting -- a vague, friendly presence -- but given the softened nature of this story, a gruff drunken brute was probably a bit much to expect.

If the story ends abruptly (Wait, Brunhilda? What?) with several plot threads dangling, it doesn't negate the zippy plot or the marvelous friendship between David and Luke. It's all terrific from start to finish. ( )

DWJ is one of my favourite authors. However, I found my re-reading this particular story a rather sad reflection of Diana's excessively dysfunctional childhood. I now realize I no longer enjoy her stories that apparently harken back to her neglectful parents and their rather abusive treatment of the children.

Despite my adult perception, older children who know a little about the Norse myths may recognize that 'Luke' is Loki, the Norse god of luck and fire. The narrative is rather coy on this aspect. Despite this possible glitch, a mythological development presents David, on summer vacation visiting his unpleasant family, with an 8-day companion of strange and wonderful abilities. The family dynamic changes under Luke's influence and the story is a bit of an adventure thereafter. Without revealing how life changes for David, I will say the story would satisfy the younger YA reader with how it finishes. Hopefully an enjoyable read for the middle grade reader but not reflective of DWJ's story-telling abilities seen in her later novels. ( )

Interesting and entertaining take on Norse and Germanic mythology. A good standalone for starting out with this author. ( )

This is a re-read -- I probably haven't read it in over 30 years, and there were a lot of details that had been completely forgotten. What I remembered of this one is the exploration of ideas from mythology that don't require that the reader have any understanding of the myths, including the summoning of 'Luke' by the main character, David, by the breaking of the bonds by the random recitation of the necessary words. On rereading, I noticed that there are many little details that can be useful for a more knowledgeable reader to feel smug about, but I didn't feel that it mattered that I couldn't work out who one of the characters was.

What I hadn't remembered of the story is how much of it was about the emotional neglect and abuse of the main character by his family, and how the summoning of 'Luke' changes that all, not only for him, but people around him. While David is certainly complicit in this change, he is not the person with the agency to effect it -- possibly a common theme through many of Jones' books. And the way that David's view of his aunt by marriage changes as she takes opportunities to spend time with him, away from the rest of the family (which leads directly to one of the conclusions of the book, but I'll leave that out here).

While this is one of my four (or so) favourite books written by Jones', I don't actually think it is one of her stronger ones. The worldbuilding, including the incorporation of Norse mythology, is good, but sometimes patchy. The characterisation is mostly fine, but sometimes a bit wooden. The writing is mostly smooth, but aspects of both the worldbuilding and the characterisation kept throwing me out of the story -- I was sometimes too busy wondering what it was that I was missing in a particular scene to actually read it properly the first time through, and thus ended up rereading multiple pages. The plot is fairly straightforward. While I found it clunky in places, I'm not sure how much of that is due to the other aspects already mentioned.This is a relatively early book of Jones', and thus it is understandable that it doesn't have the strength of some of her later ones (it was first published in 1975; her earliest [Changeover] was published in 1970), but I actually don't think that it is as strong as others she was publishing at the time or shortly after (eg. Homeward Bounders) ( )