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Summary: If you're a loner, you'll love this book.
Review: Grendel is a fantastic book. Why, you ask? Because in the mind of a "monster" that the world has asked us so long to condemn as a beast, the reader can find the soul of a young boy who was never given a chance. I cried, at the end, because it was a realistic commentary on our society; the "popular kid" destroying the loner. Gardener does a wonderful job in sculpting the character through a rather delightful use of description, prose, and pure poetry in it's ultimate essence. My favorite chapter was Grendel's meeting with the Dragon, an ancient creature so sarchastic and cynical I couldn't help but laugh at his comments about the human race. Offended? No, because in my mind, while reading this book, I WAS Grendel. That's how far it pulled me in. Anyway, this is a masterpiece, read it or wear that wool over your eyes for the rest of your life.
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Summary: Really Good Book!
Review: Grendel is a great read. I read Beowulf prior to this, and I was not anticipating another boring tale. Grendel was not boring or hard to read. It was really interesting to find out Grendel's thoughts. It made me laugh. I am sad for the poor monster. He just wanted a friend. I love John Gardner's style of writing. I thought it was pretty good. I didn't give it five stars because I wouldn't say it was on of the best books ever, but it was definitely near the top of my list.
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Summary: Rather Good
Review: After reading Beowulf, I was not anticipating reading Grendel. Thankfully, it was a surprise. I really enjoyed his style of writing.
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Summary: Can't finish poor Grendel...
Review: I simply cannot finish this book. Try as I might, my sympathy for Grendel will not carry me through. Perhaps because I lose Grendel and see more of Kurt Cobain in a hole screaming, I don't know. But I simply cannot finish this book.
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Summary: The Best Novel of the 20th Century
Review: It's not simply the BEST novel of the 20th Century, it is the single work of art that most perfectly captures the spirit of the century in so many ways. The obsession with psychology, anti-heroism, cynicism, and proof that history is written by the winners. When Beowulf was written, clearly those were mythic times when great tales of heroism were important for society. Contrast that to the darkness, anger, nihilism and altogether opposite point of view. The greatest heroic tale told from the point of view of the beast himself, only this time you root for the beast to kill as many humans as possible....Truly a work of poetry.
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Summary: Top book of all times
Review: Reading all of the reviews for this book, I find there is very little left to say about the subject matter. The prose though... The WONDERFUL prose of John Gardner. Even if you don't care for the many meanings found in this book, you will love the beautiful, and sometimes stark, prose. When I'm between books, I'll pick up Grendel, open it to ANY page, and read away. I just love the way it's written. My favorite book of all times. (The Sunlight Dialogues is another great John Gardner novel)
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Summary: Still thinking
Review: I read Grendel years ago and I still think of the ideas presented in that book. I don't know if it was me or the book, but I thought it gave some philophical insight to the continuous nature of life... in that all people are involved in a larger cycle. John Garner presented immortality contrary to how we are taught to regard it -- as a curse. Grendal struggles through his life trying to find a break from his boredom, which is one of the reasons he's become such a vicious monster. "Tedium is the worst pain." Also, the theme regarding people "living on" I found to be very interesting in that, if there is nobody to remember a person, it is as if they never existed at all.
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Summary: The various ism's are intriguing, but the rest...
Review: John Gardner's Grendel is chock-full of nihilism, solipsism, and existentialism, all to varying degrees and from various angles. As far as being a book that will make you think, Grendel finishes pretty high. Think of it as a more extreme version of Catcher in the Rye. The outsider is a hairy monster instead of a disaffected teenager. The agonizing questions are ones concerning the basis of reality and the underlying purpose of existence rather than living genuinely within a world that is assumed, at the very least, to be real. Grendel's internal monologues create a thought-provoking text. However, in a stylistic rather than philosophical sense, Grendel is somewhat lacking. Though the bleakness of the book's setting is certainly apropos of Grendel's ideas, the somewhat repetitive nature of the book coupled with the blandness that enters from many angles eventually detracts from the quality of the work. I probably wouldn't have taken the time to write this review if I weren't so offended that it got a higher average rating than Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. If not as thick in philosophical content as Grendel, these books are certainly richer, for their ideas are presented within a dynamic context rather than as philosophical drivel, which is a bit easier to write. For those who would say that Gardner conveys his ideas more effectively through the style he uses, I might even agree, but that does reduce the boring aspects of it.
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Summary: Fantastic book
Review: In so many epics such as Beowulf you find that because it is an epic, The "hero" of the story is always fighting for something whether it be an evil dragon or a viscious horrible monster. In the epic Beowulf, Grendel is portrayed as an evil viscious monster with no feelings or cares about human life. In this book, it takes you not into the eyes of the hero, but in the eyes of Grendel, which makes this book so interesting and appealing to the reader. This book grabs you and doesn't let go, almost to the point of where you will kick yourself for not reading the entire book that day. This book is a must read
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Summary: If you like British literature, this is a great pick.
Review: Very effective and a great read whether it's for a class or for yourself. It lets you learn to sympathize with the monster, as Mary Shelly does in Frankenstein. Grendel is best read after Beowulf, but it is not necessary to have read Beowulf before this novel. It is also interesting to note as you read this book the many examples of brothers who kill each other--Gardner himself included. If you don't know what I mean, do a quick search on him and read some biographical info. Keep in mind too that Gardner writes this novel as a refutation of the writings of his existentialist peers at the time, and look for the motifs that these feelings evoke. Quite interesting.
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