Legendary? A Book Review of When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
A modern-day Viking woman, a neo Nazi reformed brother, and a heap of misunderstanding. What could go wrong?
When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald turned into a story I never expected from looking at the front cover, noticing the hype on social media, and by reading the back cover synopsis. And in MacDonald’s own words, “Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villians.” His fictional story is every bit reality tucked into each page.
Zelda is a bright-eyed, feisty young woman with cognitive disabilities from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The protagonist is legendary not only because of her amazing recollection of all facts about Vikings but due to her unbreakable spirit. Only a few chapters in, the reader discovers many of Zelda’s shortcomings are inflicted by those who surround her rather than true limitations. She is prevented from developing by severe protectiveness from her brother, an intense attraction to her boyfriend who has a much more serious mental handicap than her own, and general misunderstanding of her condition.
MacDonald does an amazing thing in his novel, pairing the strongest and best with the fragile and most vulnerable. His pointed message about assuming weakness for those who are born differently abled, sinks deep in the heart of readers. Only the book’s legendary character, Zelda, realizes her full power. A strength at times even the reader doubts.
The concept of the entire hardback appears so lighthearted and cheerful, but MacDonald’s family epic is laden with terrible humor. Not that his jokes miss the punch line, rather the situations are brutal, honest, and comedic. For example, one scene unfolds like this: Zelda charges into a room as a warrior Viking, chanting ancient Norse, wielding a sword to stop a brutal gang attack on her brother. Warm feelings for the childlike innocence of a Viking defeating thugs to protect her brother turn icy when the scene plays out as it would in real life. Zelda becomes the victim of the attack, no one pausing for her condition or playfulness.
New York Times reviewer Jillian Medoff wrote this about the tension in the plot, “Unfortunately, while it’s impossible not to root for Zelda, MacDonald’s creative choices occasionally blur the lines between adult and Y.A. fiction, which distracts from the narrative and undermines his efforts.”
There were other choices made by MacDonald, like excessive cursing and graphic sexual references, that undermine his efforts as well. I struggled to read When We Were Vikings. This book is an excellent character piece without any arguments. Zelda and AK47 and Gert were genuine, complex, and loveable characters. I cheered the MacLeish family on from start to end.
The story is bitter and difficult to digest. I am not disillusioned that many children who are born with FASD grow up in hard realities where no excuses or extra protections are made for them. But wow, Zelda faced everything and in a very short timeline covered in the book. So many people her brother allowed into her life took advantage of her lowered cognitive function and trusting nature.
And when I think about Tommy Orange’s FASD character, Tony Loneman, in There, There who also got swept up in the illicit drug world, I was not this conflicted. Possibly it was the larger than life Viking persona MacDonald assigned to Zelda? Maybe the humor was inappropriate although never malicious? I just do not know. All I can point to is these two true to life characters with similar scenarios were translated very differently to readers.
I would recommend this book to be sought out if interested in the subject or wanting to draw your own conclusion. Reading this book unprepared for the villians, who are not always people, turned me off to enjoying the special work MacDonald completed. He understood Zelda and presented her so naturally I wonder if he lives around a person with the same cognitive disorder.
When We Were Vikings would make an excellent movie because a shortened storyline might alleviate some of the harshness of the book. I have already cast my main characters and feel that a visualization might reconcile some of the choices MacDonald used in his text. Written on the page, language has a unique power different from conversation. Zelda’s obsession with using expletives her brother has to define for her might come across to audiences differently.
Another GoodReads reviewer asked, what if MacDonald had spent more time working on this book with a mentor who helped him place it correctly in the genre, would it be better? I think MacDonald’s plot disfunctions open more opportunity for healthy community dialogue. We need blunders to help us see the blind spots. There is not enough literature representing the 1 in 100 people born with FASD. When you hear ‘on the spectrum’ do you not immediately think of autism? MacDonald was brave to approach this topic and I believe his book will be legendary for pillaging away at the norm.
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