A review by bennysbooks
Grendel by John Gardner

Took a large break in between readings of Grendel due to library borrowing times. I think this book was very successful in the way that the prose blended the poetic elements of Beowulf with more modern (circa the 70's) language. There were passages that made me laugh, that I wanted to record for later, that made me think about the world or language differently. Where I think it fell flat for me was in the philosophical musing. Maybe it's the distance of 50-ish years, or my own studies/interests in philosophy, or maybe even the proliferation of books told from the perspective of villains. Whatever it was, I just didn't find Grendel or his moaning all that interesting or thought-provoking. I managed to finish the book by allowing myself to be swept up in the stream-of-consciousness writing, but I don't feel particularly moved by the experience (which I think is what I expected).