jenna_le 's review for:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Gawain Poet

4.0

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I read this in anticipation of possibly seeing the well-reviewed new Dev Patel movie at some point. I seem to be having good luck with translations of verse narratives recently, as I enjoyed this book quite as much as I enjoyed the Headley Beowulf translation I read last fall. The fast pacing and vigorous language never left me bored, and translator Simon Armitage's obvious enthusiastic interest in some of the original Gawain poet's preoccupations (e.g., armor, hunting, the steps involved in preparing game meat) is infectious, making me devour those passages with avidity despite never having had any curiosity about those topics before. I relished the use of spiky, gristly concrete words like gralloching, numbles, and chine, which increased my awe for the virtually unplumbable richness of the English language. Regionalisms like nithering and chunters also added texture and interest. Finally, I appreciated how the physical adventure is balanced by timeless moral concerns ("friendship and fraternity with fellow men, purity and politeness...and pity"). "If fate is kind or cruel, man must still try."