Reviews

Grendel by John Gardner

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cburgbennett's review

1.0

Read this for AP English my senior year. I didn't like it. I don't know why. It didn't interest me. I found it very weird and was not entertained by any of the story.

livvvvvvvvvvv6's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

0.5

jon288's review against another edition

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4.0

Lyrical and an interesting retelling of Beowulf. I vaguely remember Sean talking about it? Very good. Nice that most of the book was set before the arrival of the big man

This brief book is a brutally powerful conjuring of the monster Grendel from [b:Beowulf|52357|Beowulf|Unknown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327878125s/52357.jpg|189503]. The story is narrated in first person by John Gardner's reimagined Grendel, who is both horrifying and sympathetic: a savage, ruthless, lonely creature. The prose is often wonderful, earthy yet poetic, laced with wit. In addition to the inhuman Grendel, the book includes a shorter, very striking evocation of a dragon who sees both past and future. I also particularly liked the thread about the minstrel and the impact of his craft both on Grendel and on the humans.

I liked most of the book very well, including the opening chapters, and the later appearance of Beowulf. However at times, such as the opening pages of chapter 7, I found the tone of Grendel's perspective jarring and discordant. At other times, such as the closing pages of chapter 7 (I had trouble with chapter 7!), I found Grendel's perspective so repellent I wanted to stop reading. Although the nastiness seemed consistent with the story, it was thoroughly unpleasant.

As with many first person narratives, the book provided no explanation of how, when, and to whom the story was being told. This weakened the impact of the end for me. Yet the voice of the first person narration is part of the strength of the majority of the book, part of what put me under its spell.

terpgirl42's review

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3.0

3.5

tytie's review

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

smuttea_matcha's review

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3.0

I enjoyed this. The whole seeing things from Grendel's point of view was a nice experience. One of my favorite parts was the whole philosophical talk about inner heroism and all that stuff. There's so many of those talks that it's hard to mention all of them. If you read Beowulf, you should read Grendel.