Reviews

Njal's Saga by Robert Cook

smudgy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

sjstuart's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not exactly a page-turner based on plot and pacing and having to keep track of 400 characters. But bonus points for the fascinating historical insights, and it certainly stands up well against anything else written in the 1200s.

The action begins with an escalating sequence of blood feuds, most of which were triggered by the apparent Achilles' heel of medieval Icelanders: their fragile masculinity. A typical exchange:

A: "No, I won't help you in this rash attack on your neighbor. It would be wrong, as well as unsuccessful."

B: "If you don't, you will never be called a man again."

A: "Oh well, I have no possible answer to that. Let no one say I'm afraid of death. Goodbye, wife. I expect never to return."

These gradually evolve into an escalating sequence of lawsuits -- like a medieval John Grisham legal thriller, complete with jury selection, legal technicalities, venue changes, last-minute court surprises, and mistrials. Except that the losing party tends to ignore the court ruling and hack some limbs off their counterparties, leading to more lawsuits.

emilygray4's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

adelinade's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

robin_booklabpartner's review against another edition

Another saga read for my Vikings class. The first half was entertaining but the second half was kinda meh. Sooo much legal stuff, it was so hard to keep track of. This one I read about 95% of, the only chunk I skipped wasn’t very long lol

colorfulleo92's review against another edition

5.0

I listened to this as an audiobook and I didn't expect that a novel/story written around 1280 to be as entertaining and engaging. Was casually browsing around while listening at the end of the book but had to stop and process what I just heard. The imagination was clearly not an issue back then and had quite interesting effect. The fight scenes was a tad different from the modern ones but way more interesting. Highly recommend giving this work a try

bradach's review against another edition

5.0

Njal I found to be one of the most relatable characters of all the sagas I have read, level-headed and wise. Njal’s saga just oozes tragedy. Men get manipulated by their sadistic wives into a seemingly endless blood feud. Then the story of Mord lying to Skarphedrin leading to the death of Hoskuld Njalsson, and ultimately Njal and his sons, and the subsequent nearly lifelong blood feud between Kari and Flosi. It is a very tragic story. Those middle age Icelanders are great story-tellers.

julialou's review against another edition

4.0

My favorite of the books I read for my Norse Mythology course this semester. I truly became attached to some of the characters, which I hadn't expected. It had a surprisingly compelling plot and I was fascinated to the very end.

jkropla's review against another edition

I have come to the decision that reading sagas of Icelanders is just like watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians but with murder & ghosts & far more entertainment.

aaronreadabook's review against another edition

4.0

It's hard to rate this as it is 800 years old and doesn't follow the same storytelling methods we are used to as modern readers (although it does more than I expected). However, it is super fun and is full of people halberding people into rivers, blood feuds, and legal battles.