Since we've been talking about Beowulf

[Karen in CO]

Has anyone read Grendel by John Gardner? I have been tempted to put it in my Amazon cart - I am a huge Beowulf fan.

For all of you planning to start listening to the Heaney audio version of Beowulf soon, a cold winter night is a great time to start it. Turn out the lights, start a fire in the fireplace, light some candles, get some mead (but not for the kids) and enjoy.

[Ellyndria]

I haven't...but I just wanted to say I loved Beowulf when I read it in 12th grade, so now I'm off to check out reviews of Grendel and possibly add it to my wishlist.. thanks!

[Michelle in AL]

I would suggest getting it from the library first. I just finished the Heaney version of Beowulf and really enjoyed it, so I began to read Grendel next. I agree with the negative reviews at amazon. Grendel is vulgar, whiney and completely self absorbed. I must say I only read the first chapter and couldn't get beyond that, so perhaps it gets better.

[Beth in SW WA]

Yesterday my daughter was in 2 CYT shows and I had to work at the theater all day at the refreshments table. I had many quiet hours when the shows were in progress to listen/read along w/ Beowulf.

I would love to find a good map reference of Denmark. Any ideas?

I would love a compare/contrast between the text and the movie that was made last year.

As I recall, the movie portrayed Hrothgar as a drunken, naughty, leader. The book clearly portrays him as a devout, godly leader whose throne was untouchable by Grendel.

I'd appreciate some more insight on the movie/book discrepancies.

Back to the theater today for another show. The things we do for our kids! :)

[Karen in CO]

My son and his ps friend both read it at the same time and both had to do writing assignments on it. My son's friend also received extra credit for watching the movie. The three of us had read the book together and discussed it many times. The boys came home from the movie complaining about how horrible the movie was. I had been planning to watch it on dvd, until we discussed some of the main deviations.

The one that bothered my son the most was that Beowulf did not go back to Geatland. He thought it was a betrayal of his role as a hero in the story. An essential part of Beowulf's character was as a faithful servant to his own king.

The part that bothered my son's friend the most was that he didn't kill Grendel's mother.

I figured if two teenage boys thought that it ruined an epic poem, that I would probably not like it since I had loved the poem since way before they were born.

One of the scenes that I like best in Beowulf is him as an old king in Geatland, going out as an aging hero in a world that has moved beyond needing heroes to defend it against a dragon awakened by a thief. They probably didn't include that part in the movie. :001_huh:

[Michelle in MO]

did you know about Benjamin Bagby's version of Beowulf (http://www.bagbybeowulf.com/index.html)? He recites Beowulf in Old-Anglo Saxon, accompanied by an Anglo-Saxon harp; in essence, he recreates the setting for how the poem would most likely have been sung/performed by a poet of that time period. If you click on "Video" on the left-hand side of the home page, you can watch a short video clip. The DVD is available with English subtitles. You might also check Netflix for this.

And, you can also listen to Beowulf being read in Old English here (http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html). This link is provided by the University of Virginia's Old English Department. Click on which section you want to hear, i.e., the Prologue, and you'll be able to hear the original Anglo-Saxon online. It's very cool!

[Karen in CO]

Oh now, I know what we are doing on Thanksgiving after football.
Wow - thank you and thank Netflix too.

Of course, my hubby may not thank you very much ;)

[Michelle in MO]

Oh now, I know what we are doing on Thanksgiving after football.
Wow - thank you and thank Netflix too.

Of course, my hubby may not thank you very much ;)

I know how those husbands are about Thanksgiving Day football! But of course, you wouldn't be interrupting the game---it would only be afterwards!

Enjoy!

[Karen in CO]

I know how those husbands are about Thanksgiving Day football! But of course, you wouldn't be interrupting the game---it would only be afterwards!

Enjoy!

It is even worse than that - the football is all for me too - he doesn't like that either. :lol: Turkey - Football - Old English Poetry, maybe I can beg some mead off one of my friends. Now I am really going to be thankful.

[Michelle in MO]

It is even worse than that - the football is all for me too - he doesn't like that either. :lol: Turkey - Football - Old English Poetry, maybe I can beg some mead off one of my friends. Now I am really going to be thankful.

(replies Michelle with a knowing grin! ;) ) I can't think of any better combination after a Thanksgiving dinner than the ones you've mentioned!

Cheers!

:cheers2:

ETA: I don't know if you or someone else mentioned the recent Beowulf movie that came out about a year ago (the Hollywood version), and you may already know this, but I found it to be a complete disappointment. I expected to be disappointed, because I had a feeling Hollywood just wouldn't be able to get it right---but also felt like I should see it, just in case. Well---it was a disappointment. I thought Anthony Hopkins was idiotic as a drunken version of King Hrothgar, and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother who seduces Beowulf---ewwww! I wasn't surprised, but I wish for once Hollywood would stop messing with the original stories (which have stood the test of time) and just tell the story with some measure of quality and integrity!

OK. Rant over!

[Janice H]

I must say I only read the first chapter and couldn't get beyond that, so perhaps it gets better.I might have gotten a bit further than this. I have the book on tape and was listening to it in the car during errands. Grendel's thoughts are very dark, detailed, and primitive. (Maybe George Guidall's reading was too riveting; it's hard to skim or tune out the weird rantings of Grendel.)

I stopped listening to the book, but did recommend Grendel to my psychoanalyst friend. I explained to her if she ever need a modern literature example of a pre-psychotic enmeshed mother-son relationship, then she should borrow my tape.