Grendel

Rating:
Summary: A great book based on the ancient tale
Review: This book is roughly based on "Beowulf" and centralizes around the nemesis of Beowulf himself--the monster Grendel. This a simply-written book that is filled with Grendel's despair and cynicism about life. The book, if you're willing to really read it, is deeply philosophical and says a lot about that famous "human condition." An outstanding book

Rating:
Summary: Great the first time through, and even better the second.
Review: Clever, touching, creative, and thought-provoking, _Grendel_ is a work of art that, through the perspective of a naive monster, comments on the hypocrisy and anthropocentric nature of humans. John Gardner's mastery of creative fiction writing is evident in every word of this book. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A riveting and hilarious revisiting of the old epic.
Review: Yes! A glorious read. You don't have to know the originalstory, but it helps. Briefly, the Anglo-Saxon epic "Beowulf"where the monster Grendel makes his appearance, dates from about 700 AD, was probably written in England, but describes events in Denmark. An aging king's hall is troubled for twelve years by visits from a monster who lives in the depths of a marshy lake. The monster breaks into the hall at night and seizes and eats men. It is invulnerable to swords. Eventually, a neighboring group come to the hall promising to deal with the monster. The king's men are a bit humiliated, but in no position to refuse. Sure enough, the hero Beowulf wrestles the monster and succeeds in tearing off its arm. Monster goes back to marsh to die, but...here comes Mama Monster, and she is REALLY bad news. However, Beowulf tracks her to their den under the lake and kills her too.

John Gardner's "Grendel" retells the story...from the point of view of the monster. His Grendel is an enthralling creation, basically all Id, ruled by appetite and impulse, given to sudden craziness, but full of inchoate yearnings and an endearing scepticism about the bombastic heroics of the drunken Danes. He watches everything, hidden behind cowsheds or in a tree. He is smitten with the beauty of the king's young queen! (But he has no sex urge: invading the royal bedchamber, he is appalled by her nakedness).

Grendel is full of confused metaphysical musings on the nature of reality, time, fate, and other inconvenient appurtenances of daily life. He is not the only philosopher, however: there is a wonderful portrait of an all-knowing dragon (who also features elsewhere in the original, but is only seen in repose in this book).The dragon is a wily old rascal, of impenetrable cunning and endowed with great power. Sort of like Jesse Helms. Even Grendel fears him. (Actually, in full philosophical flood the dragon is more like a cross between Alan Watts and Stephen Hawking). Then there is Grendel's mother, a nasty bloated thing who has forgotten speech, a limbic horror:

"When I sleep, she presses close to me, half buries me under her thistly fur and fat. "Dool-Dool," she moans. She drools and weeps. "Warrovish," she whimpers, and tears at herself. Hanks of fur come away in her claws. I see gray hide."

All the writing is just splendid, varied in rhythm, brilliant in imagery, incisive in tone: a scene in a sentence. Here is an archer hunting the winter woods:

"The man, furred from his toes to his ears, walks through the moon-and-snowlit woods, silent as an owl, huge bow on his shoulder, his eyes on the dark tracks."

It is also hilarious: he describes his night visits to the king's hall "[I have] ... knocked politely on the high oak door, bursting its hinges and sending the shock of my greeting inward like a cold blast out of a cave. "Grendel!" they squeak, and I smile, like an exploding spring. The old Shaper, a man I cannot help but admire, goes out the back window with his harp at a single bound, though blind as a bat."

Or the description of the tame bear during a feast in the hall:

"The bear sat with his feet stuck out, playing with his penis and surveying the hall with a crotchety look, as if dimly aware that there was something about him that humans could not approve."

Tempted enough? Go for it. A super book.

Rating:
Summary: Beowulf is better...
Review: I read this book for class after reading Beowulf, which I surprisingly enjoyed. This book focuses on the monster from the original poem, Grendel. While I liked the fact that the character was developed more and made sympathetic, the structure of the book was a little strange. I also felt like sometimes I was missing was the author was trying to say. I think this is quite problematic since the book is marketed to a young adult audience and I'm out of that age group. I would only recommend reading this if you read Beowulf and want a different perspective, otherwise, leave it.

Rating:
Summary: Nihilism
Review: Well written, depressing, and ultimately boring story of nihilism. The theme is that life is meaningless and achievement of values is impossible. Those who attempt to gain value in life or to act virtuously are fools or liars, and are to be despised more than the ordinary wretched people who recognizes that depravity and misery is all they can achieve.

Conveys the Existentialist view that men have choices, but that they are ineffective and arbitrary. Along the way the reader is given some insights into human behavior and some aspects of the role of art works, but this is not balanced by human benevolence and the influence of reason.


Rating:
Summary: Grendel forever!
Review: Like OMG Grendel takes my breath away! I was forced to read it by my english teacher but WOW it changed my life. I realize that life now has meaning. I was so inspired by the book that I have decided to devote the rest of my life to making an accurate depiction of the book by film. I have just decided that the starring role of Grendel is going to be played by up and coming actress,Brianna Grinnell. Please see the movie when it comes out and LONG LIVE GRENDEL!

Rating:
Summary: i heart grendel
Review: Grendel is the story of Beowolf from Grendels point of view. I enjoyed the story from the first sentence to the last. The main theme of the story was communication and john gardner brings up some very interesting points. The novel is an easy read and almost anyone could get some sort of understanding from it but in order to truly understand it takes some well thought out analization and pondering. anyone who has ever felt alone and scared in a world filled with people will form an almost instant bond with "the monster". The novel does a great job conveying the emotions and pictures in the story. I would recomend this book to anyone who has ever had questions about life and it's meaning.

Rating:
Summary: wow... just wow.
Review: John Gardner's _Grendel_ is an amazing book and one of the most engaging, confusing, difficult and beautiful books of our time. It is a fantastic fusion of elements of nihilism and Taoism, faith and disillusionment. This story follows the original antagonist of the classic epic _Beowulf_ through his struggles to find meaning and to decide whether he is willing to live in a world where meaning must come from within. The literary style blends seamlessly with the content of the story; seemingly fragmented and convoluted but with a subtly powerful cohesiveness. When I finished this book I felt as if I had awoken from a gripping dream: exhausted but exhilarated and full of questions I could only make half-conscious. If Dostoevsky, Salinger and Lao Tzu wrote a book together, this would be it. I cannot recommend it too highly.

Rating:
Summary: An intersting take on a timeless classic
Review: Don't be misled by the fact that the main character is a monster, "Grendel" is not a book that is solely about some savage beast terrorizing innocent villagers (though it has that too), it is rather a look at a previously untold view of the famous Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the viewpoint of the epic's main monster, Grendel. Rather than the mindless devourer of "Beowulf", the Grendel we are treated to here has thoughts, feelings, and emotions, many of them oneswe as human beings can identify with. Grendel is painted as a lonely monster struggling with his identity and his meaning in a meaningless world, his smallest and most insignificant thoughts painted with incredible detail, which is the book's biggest failing; the detail which seems so rich and thoughtful at one moment seems cumbersome and pointless the next, it can almost feels forced. Furthermore, one identifies and feels sorry for Grendel right up until the point when he decides to slit the throat of some innocent guard or kill a few people in their sleep. Furthermore, if one is looking at this book, remember two things; first of all, it is not a child's fairy tale, it contains graphic depictions of violence and abstract language. Second, the writing styles of this book and the original epic couldn't be more different, so it isn't a sequel or prequel of the older book, and one will fail to enjoy it if one considers it as such. Otherwise, "Grendel" is an interesting short book that takes a vastly different take on an old classic, but should be enjoyed and evaluated by itself.

Rating:
Summary: WOO GRENDEL WOO!
Review: Grendel was an excellent book. It is the epic story of Beowulf from the monsters point of view. John Gardner uses very descriptive scenes that make it very easy to picture the many actions and emotions grendel is going through. It can be read again and again. Each time getting a different meaning and purpose out of the text. You are able to truly connect to Grendel throughout his struggle to find himself, as well as, his place in the world. Grendel discovers the many questions that arise when one is faced with the challenges of faith and communication with others. Grendel seems to be on a quest of the meaning of being.