Reviews

Grendel by John Gardner

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jmutrickster's review

challenging dark mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

2.25

A fascinating novella. Far from what you expect, but exactly what the original demands from this point of view, Grendel was a theoretical inspiration for one of my novels. I too am writing a traditional story through the eyes of the antagonist, and decided I should probably read this to see the pros and cons of conceptual imitation. Ultimately, this is very poetic and philosophical, a madness and a sanity that few other characters could provide.

brynn_'s review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.25

pastel_princess's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

raediance04's review

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3.0

The book was thought provoking. It makes us think about who we alienate as monsters in society. The novel causes us to look into ourselves to understand why we instill fear in certain people and creatures. Very interesting but the writing was a little dry and hard to read. I would recommend to someone who like Beowulf and wanted a new perspective, but if you are curious about monster culture, there are better novels and articles that exist.

sarpdem's review

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5.0

Masterpiece.

rkabel's review

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

gsheffy's review

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Interesting! Much more interesting than Beowulf. Like if Camus wrote Beowulf. But also if Camus had some odd usage of dialogue and a strong(er) attachment to image. This made me feel misanthropic, which I think was the point? Really well done--I'll revisit once we discuss in class.