Product Description

The first and most terrifying monster in English literature, from the great early epic BEOWULF, tells his side of the story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #969 in Books
• Published on: 1989-05-14
• Released on: 1989-05-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Amazon.com
Grendel is a beautiful and heartbreaking modern retelling of the Beowulf epic from the point of view of the monster, Grendel, the villain of the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon epic. This book benefits from both of Gardner's careers: in addition to his work as a novelist, Gardner was a noted professor of medieval literature and a scholar of ancient languages.

From Library Journal
George Guidall's crusty but spirited narration is perfectly suited for the monster Grendel. Gardner's 1971 classic takes the Anglo Saxon Beowulf epic and uses varying translations of the poem and other writings from the period to tell the story from the poor monster's viewpoint. Most first-person narratives translate well to the audio format, and Grendel especially enchants, casting a spell not unlike a grown-up "Lord of the Rings." The monster observes humans from a revealing and telling vantage. Just like a child in the schoolyard, Grendel picks up certain curse words and takes joy in repeating them. This has resulted in Gardner's book being challenged at the many schools where it is rightfully part of the curriculum. Guidall's voice is familiar enough for a still-fresh tale. This is storytelling at its best.?Gerald A. Notaro, Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
In the Old English epic Beowulf the hero of the title slays Grendel, the half-human monster that nightly came to assault the citadel of the Danish king. When Grendel's even more formidable mother comes to avenge him, Beowulf chases her back to her lair and dispatches her, as well. In 1971 American novelist John Gardner achieved deserved celebrity for retelling these above events from Grendel's point of view. And now George Guidall masterfully impersonates the grumbling momma's boy with deliciously sly humor and mock-tragic grandeur. Without ever striking a false note, he maintains throughout such a perfect balance of crudity and poetry that we laugh, cringe and weep all at once. His is an anti-villain par excellence. Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE's Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Distrubed....
I'm disturbed by the amount of people bashing _Grendel_. It's simply an amazing novel. Perhaps those offering sour reviews simply misunderstand the novel--Gardner, from my reading, isn't really attempting a retelling of the _Beowulf_ story. Instead, he's attempting to cast a philosophical statement *against* a philosophical school of thought that was, and still is, gaining ground when Gardner wrote _Grendel_: existentialism and nihilism, which is embraced by the dragon. Gardner just uses the Beowulf story to frame this social commentary. Consider Gardner's philosophical statement: in a time in history when so many were and are embracing the pointlessness of life, Gardner tells us that there is meaning and real in the world around us. Beowulf smashes Grendel into the wall when they finally meet and forces him to sing walls to prove to Grendel that there is meaning and that reality does exist. And what does Grendel do? He sings walls and sees a different kind of dragon. Grendel, throughout that whole novel, searches for something real, something that carries meaning, and Beowulf becomes that. People read this novel and think it's depressing--it's not. In the end there's hope. Yeah, we know Beowulf is going to die, but before he does, he's going to accomplish great things, and there will be other great rulers after him.

If you're looking for an action story, stick with _Beowulf_. But if you're looking for a philosophical novel to controvert the overwhelming onslaught of postmodernism and beliefs that we're in the world all by ourselves and should find gold and "sit on it" as the dragon tells Grendel, _Grendel_ is one of the finest craftings written to date.

Perhaps those who would denigrate _Grendel_ simply do not understand its intent; it's intent isn't to entertain you; it's intent is to teach you and force you to question. And on those grounds, it's really hard to argue that it's not a fantastic book.

Disappointing
As a fan of the epic _Beowulf_, Gardner's _Grendel_ was recommended to me by a colleague. The genre - re-writing a well-known story from the persepctive of another character is not new (see _Wicked_, for example), so I had a good idea of what I was getting into. Nonetheless, I was disappointed.

That Grendel is not the nasty brute portrayed in the epic poem was expected. The writing, however, was difficult for me get into. At times Gardner wrote in a first-person narrative, but inexplicably he would later change to a third person ("Time-Space cross section: Wealtheow. Cut A: It was the second year ...") It felt totally out of place and character for the story as it was being told. Gardner was also terribly repetitive. I get that he was, to some extent, imitating the style and form of the original - but he did so without the panache of the original, instead merely sounding ridiculous.

The action and interaction between Grendel and the thanes was laborious and frankly uninteresting; again, the original epic was able to keep and maintain my attention - Gardner, much less so. To his credit, Garnder paints a sympathetic Grendel and one in which readers get a clearer understanding of his actions and behaviours. Still, it is not a book I would recommend.

If you are a high school senior...
If you are like myself a high school senior reading this book for English class, GOOD LUCK! It is by far the least interesting novel I have ever read. Skip it and just look up the sparknotes.