Grendel

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Summary: Grendel
Review: In the novel Grendel, the story of Beowulf is told in Grendel's point-of-view. In this novel, Grendel, the monster, goes and is trying to destroy Herot Hall. After many of Grendel's attacks, Beowulf comes to Hrothgar's kingdom to help fight Grendel. Beowulf does not realize what a challenge this would be in fighting many battles.
In Beowulf's first battle with Grendel, he does not use any weapons. This symbolizes the fact that Beowulf is trying to gain more fame and glory without the help of people. In the second battle, Beowulf fights Grendel's mother after she attacks Herot Hall to find Beowulf. This fight is symbolic because it is Grendel's mom heart that Beowulf is fighting against. In the third battle, Beowulf fights the dragon that had helped Grendel at one time.
The novel Grendel is a well-written novel and the author does a very good job of answering questions pertaining to the story.
It is a good idea to read this novel after you have read the epic Beowulf.
The background of the story is well set according to the novel.
The author makes the reader feel involved in the story, which makes it feel more fun to read. The reader feels the emotions of Beowulf and knows his struggles going into battle.
I enjoyed this novel very much and I think anyone who reads it will too.

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Summary: More than just a story
Review: Grendel is one of my favorite novels. Besides being a creative story about the tale of Beowulf from the "monster's" point of view, it explores many subjects. Good vs. Evil, caring for a senile parent, temptation, Life and Death, history, oral tradition, greed, war, and many more.

Gardner does a masterful job of weaving all of these themes together, and somehow still gets us to feel sympathy for Grendel. For anyone who is interested in mythology and folklore, this novel is a must read.

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Summary: Required reading
Review: I recently read Grendel for a high school course and found myself shocked from the beginning at the quality. The normally distasteful nature of reading assignments aside, Grendel was a stunning book. Though Grendel is always physically described as a monster, I know people whose mental state is very nearly the same as his. Reading the pain of such a despicable creature that hits so close to home was stomach-wrenching and breathtaking-- unlike the epic poem, Beowulf, Grendel made it difficult not to see the characters as real. Despite Grendel's purportedly evil and inhuman nature, I couldn't help but see him as someone I knew, feeling what he went through. By the end of the book I loved and hated him, and was given a good bit to think about with the Danes and Geats, and especially the dragon. A definite must-read for would-be philosophers (no, not that annoying high talk you may have been forced to read while "studying philosophy") and anyone intrigued by the darker side of human nature.

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Summary: Grendel:A Tale from the Other Side
Review: Welcome to Emily R. Prats's Book Review
Grendel: A Tale from the Other Side

Many of us know Beowulf, the epic poem that tells the story of Beowulf, a strong, brave, and courageous warrior who hears of trouble with a monster, journeys to the far-off land of Denmark, and defeats the mighty Grendel. Beowulf, though, tells only the tale of Beowulf the warrior, leaving out the thoughts and feelings of the monster that plagues the land. Grendel, however, goes deeper into the story because it is told by the creature himself.
The story of Grendel, by John Gardner, is that of a being in monstrous form who thinks not unlike most humans. All of the glorified tellings of Beowulf, when told from a totally different point of view, seem silly and unnecessary. It is as if you see everything all over again, but from a more innocent, less jaded perspective, as when you see a certain movie as a young child--6 or 7 years old--and you find it incredibly humorous; so funny, in fact, that your sides hurt from laughing too much. And then you watch it again, three, maybe four years later, and you realize that it really wasn't as funny as all that; you find that somehow, you had been under the impression, for all these years, that this movie was hilarious, when, in truth, it isn't really that comical.
The story inside Grendel goes somewhat like this: we come upon the story where Grendel is at the moment, and then we learn how he got there. Along the way, we pick up bits and pieces, sometimes whole pages, of information on how Grendel came to be the creature he is when we meet him. Gardner provides adequate knowledge of Grendel's home-life, his daily thoughts, and most important, what he thinks about Hrothgar and the other people that surround him. From Grendel, one can gain information about the entire history of the land in which this pitiful creature has lived throughout his life.
For about half the book, Grendel tells of his thoughts and feelings toward, not necessarily Hrothgar, but people in general. He is often disgusted with human behavior, many times angry at the lying, cheating, and pointless fighting. Intermittently, he describes the experiences that have led him got to where he is at the beginning of the book. After learning what kind of thing Grendel is, we return to where we were when the book began. Then Grendel relives battles that he has had with other warriors--mainly Unferth, son of Ecglaf--and tells of his own comings and goings having to do with the mead hall that he terrorizes nightly. When reasoned out by Grendel, however, this eating of humans that goes on does not seem such an atrocity. It is only in the last two chapters that we actually meet Beowulf; this is incredibly sensible for if Beowulf had been introduced at the very beginning of the book, there would have been no book. Grendel is, at first, excited about the coming of strangers, but as he grows more and more aware of Beowulf's power, Grendel becomes uneasy. The ending is sad and, instead of seeing Beowulf as the hero that he is made out to be in the poem Beowulf, he is seen as an unfeeling murderer.
John Gardner effectively paints Beowulf's picture as a strong, arrogant, tad-bit-too-confident kind of guy. He makes Grendel out to be a cynical, lovable, somewhat crazy creature who is constantly whispering to himself. Gardner tells, in detail, stories of Grendel's battles and encounters with others in such an incredible fashion, that I had to take sides; that's how drawn into the book I was! This fictional tale was beautifully written; Gardner expertly weaves together words, phrases, and feelings that one would assume come from the 20th century, yet keeps the context of Medieval times.
I would have to say that my favorite parts are Grendel's encounter with the dragon and his apple-battle with Unferth. The dragon is an interesting character because he has a very authoritative manner--to put it mildly--but he can also be fatherly and rather pathetic. Grendel compels the dragon to share with him the dragon's own philosophy, which is hard to understand at first, but makes total sense when you grasp its meaning. The apple-battle, as I like to call it, is just plain funny because it is the first time Grendel meets up with Unferth in the mead hall. For about ten minutes, Grendel harasses Unferth unremittingly; then when Unferth makes a move to charge at Grendel, the monster showers the man with apples and ends up bloodying Unferth's nose, whereupon Unferth slips and falls and, trying to take advantage of his position by grabbing Grendel's ankles as if to trip him, only puts himself through more pain, as Grendel is too quick for Unferth and tips the table over on the poor, pathetic man. All the while, Grendel is laughing hysterically.
So ends this month's book review and appropriately enough, I shall sign off with Grendel's last words:
"Poor Grendel's had an accident, so may you all."

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Summary: A Cute Little Monster, Or Not?
Review: John Gardner's Grendel is a story in which the evil monster of the epic poem Beowulf, gets a chance to tell his side of the story. Throughout the story, Grendels tell the reader what Hrothgar's people do and how they act. Grendel watches them carefully each day and tells of his mead hall raids. After reading the first few chapters you actually start to feel sorry for this human-eating monster. He tells of how lonely he feels and of how he tries to play with the humans yet he scares them off. This little monster doesn't seem evil anymore, as he did in the epic poem Beowulf. Grendel seems like a furry, cute monster that just happens to eat humans.

This contemporary fiction novel is set during Medieval Times in the country of Denmark. There is basically one main character in the story, Grendel. He is a very odd little creature that you absolutely adore. There are also the people of Hrothgar's Kingdom who try to kill Grendel but don't succeed. Ever since Grendel was a little boy he has not like the king Hrothgar, so when he gets older (twelve years old) he decides that he should do something about it. At first he tries to talk with people, but does not prosper. Of course, people are terrified of this creature and try to hurt him. So Grendel ends up venturing off to the dragon. This is where the book gets confusing and boring. I had a little trouble trying to get back into the swing of reading the book at this part. Basically, the dragon explains to Grendel how he is superior to man. Even though this point is short, the dragon goes on and on about it. The dragon also casts a spell upon Grendel so no weapon can hurt him. Grendel realizes this while on his mead hall rampage. Since the people can't hurt him, Grendel can kill the people whenever he pleases, and this is how it all starts. A few nights each week, Grendel will tear apart the mead hall and consume a few humans for his dinner. This is how the cute little monster at the beginning of the book turn into a terrifying beast.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book even though it did get boring at certain spots. The book does not have a very catchy introduction, and you have to read in about three chapter before you actually get into the book. The ending, well, I can't give it away but it wasn't very surprising to me. I think that my peers and older readers would enjoy this book, yet they must be able to think about the events. This story isn't like the usual, it isn't all laid out you must be able to think about what is going on to really enjoy the book. Anyone younger probably would get bored with these books, so it's better if you wait awhile.

Overall this book was interesting, but I wouldn't rate it as the best book that I have ever read. Only certain people can really enjoy books like this, and I am not one of them. If you enjoy reading books that really make you use your brain, and that don't lay it our for you, you will enjoy reading Grendel.

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Summary: philosophy was never so interesting
Review: Recreating Grendel, the eighth century antagonist, as an ostracized nihilist, Gardner creates an allegory displaying the evils within all people. Grendel stands as a philosophical romp through humanity. Unfortunately, while this was an excellent idea, the text itself is slightly less awe-inspiring.
Without a doubt, parallels can be drawn between John Gardner's work and that of Franz Kafka; namely, comparing Grendel to The Trial. Both novels represent excellent, tangible expressions of a specific form of philosophy-in Grendel's case, nihilism, and in the case of The Trial, existentialism. In Kafka's work, there is always a looming sense of silent acquiescence. In The Trial, for example, when Joseph K. is seemingly wrongly accused of some unknown crime, he initially attempts to alternate, or at least delay his fate. However, after confronting the idiosyncrasies of his infinitely complex (and deranged) existential world, he accepts the inevitable. Grendel is quite similar, except with nihilism as the basis for philosophical expression. From the beginning of the novel, there are allusions toward both self-destruction and malicious genocide. Grendel, himself, emphasizes that his life, and the lives of the Danes are ineffectual and pointless. The bleak styles of both Grendel and The Trial are anticipated by the usage of philosophy; the demise of the two "protagonists" is also insinuated throughout the entirety of the novels.
Despite this vast amount of innovation, Grendel does contain a few inconsistencies. For instance, Gardner's writing style is a bit rough thereby hindering the overall reception of the story. Also, the fact this allegory is a recreation of the epic Beowulf-ironically the some aspect that makes it ingenious-confines the author to a specific story.
These minor encumbrances do not, however detract from the book; they merely prevent it from being one of the premier novels of the twentieth century. Grendel is an enjoyable bit of reading for both philosophy professors and high-school students alike.

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Summary: A quick fun read but not much else
Review: This book is fairly entertaining but it could have been a lot better. Told from the point of view of Grendel the monster of Beowulf one can't help but laugh at his confusion the first time he sees men kill each other but for some strange reason they don't eat each other. This book does explore human nature to a certain extent but is way too short(only 174 pages double spaced) to explore it in depth. However, it is by no means a bad book and if you have a couple of hours to spare and nothing better to do by all means read it. It is enjoyable enough to hold your attention for a while.

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Summary: you can't read beowulf without reading this book
Review: I read Beowulf and this book together for AP English, and this book is _fantastic_ alongside B. If you haven't read Beowulf, it may not make much sense-- it's like reading the Wolf's version of the three little pigs without knowing the story of the pigs. But if you have read beowulf, this book is a joy to read-- it's fun, it's exciting, and it helps you understand B better because it explains things in modern English. If you're partial to existentialism, you may very well hate this book and want to draw and quarter mr. gardner, but perhaps that violence is all in keeping with the spirit of the times.

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Summary: "Find a pile of gold and sit on it."
Review: The late John Gardner was a most talented writer, filled with contradictions. He railed against the likes of Pynchon and Barth for their "excesses", while praising the more conservative style of Fowles, and yet probably his own best stuff was his adventurous experiments, such as OCTOBER LIGHT. GRENDEL, the best book ever written about existentialism, is supposed to be a devestating critique of that philosophy. Instead, the compelling tenacity of the existential view guarantees that Gardner will not soon disappear from university bookstores. Certainly one of my favorites.

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Summary: An Amusing Parody
Review: Grendel is a wonderful, novel that proves John Gardner is a genius of an author. The viewpoint is that of Grendel, the monster which was slain by Beowulf. But to cut to the chase Gardner uses this novel to show the stupidity of nihilism, soloptism, government . . haha . . just read it carefully and pick up on all that gardner manages to parody.