Reviews

Beowulf by Francis Barton Gummere

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danchrist's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

My first experience with Beowulf, this translation grabbed my by the throat in the first stanzas and propelled me through to the finish. Though dense and meandering at times, the modern language and vibrant idioms and word play made this a joy to read. Only wish I would have read it out loud more than I did.

Highly recommend.

andotherworlds's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5

read for school

steven_v's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

petewiggles's review against another edition

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challenging funny fast-paced

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

5.0

jbelang85's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

So this is for the Headly translation. I thought the Seamus Heaney version was better, though it has been over a decade. I remember longer fight scenes in that one.

I was interested in this version as it was described as a more modern update. But what it really seemed to be was the author inserting modern language in some areas of the book, but kept a lot of the older language. I found that a little disorienting and not as enjoyable.

Still, pretty good and might recommend it to somewhat too concerned about the ease of understanding older versions.

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