Grendel - John Gardner

1971; 174 pages. New Author? : Yes. Genre : Contemporary Fiction. Overall Rating : 5½*/10.

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This is John Gardner's retelling of the classic epic, Beowulf; save that this time, it is told from the Beast's POV. The author assumes you're familiar with the story; if you aren't, here's the link to Wiki article on it.

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What's To Like...

This is a meticulously structured novel. Each chapter has a different motif. Indeed, according to Wiki's article on the book here, each chapter corresponds to a different house of the Zodiac. Grendel ponders a lot of different "isms" - nihilism, existentialism, solipsism, fatalism. It's fun to see how Gardner weaves all of these into the story.

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Although the story is told from Grendel's POV, Gardner doesn't try to rehabilitate him. Grendel is still a monster, and his thoughts and deeds are often monstrous. It's neat to see how he rationalizes his actions. But keep in mind that the book therefore has some violence, adult situations, and coarse language.

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My favorite parts of the book were two extended conversations Grendel has. The first is with the Dragon; the second with a blind priest. There also is a subtle flow of humor throughout the book, which nevertheless blends nicely with the beastly goings-on.

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Alas, while the philosophizing is cool, the story-telling is not. There's no suspense, since you already know the ending; and Beowulf doesn't show up until there's only 25 pages to go. The "ism"-musings seem to overwhlem the plotline, so those who need a tale to be told (and that would include me), may find this a dry read in places.

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Excerpts...

I understood that, finally and absolutely, I alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what pushes me, or what I push againt, blindly - as blindly as all that is not myself pushes back. I create the whole universe blink by blink. (pg. 22; and a good example of how Gardner introduces an "ism")

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From now on I'd stay clear of them (the humans). It was one thing to eat one from time to time - that was only natural: kept them from overpopulating, maybe starving to death come winter - but it was another thing to scare them, give them heart attacks, fill their nights with nightmares, just for sport. (pg. 60-61)

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"The gods made this world for our joy!" the young priest squeals. The people listen to him dutifully, heads bowed. It does not impress them, one way or the other, that he's crazy. (pg. 138)

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I have eaten several priests. They sit on the stomach like duck eggs. (pg. 129)

Grendel is a lot like Wicked, but predates it. Maybe Greg Maguire read this, saw its shortcomings, and figured out how to improve the alternate-POV technique. Some reviewers say Grendel is a lot better the second or third time you read it, but life's too short to re-read books.

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So read it for the philosophical discourses, and not for the storyline. That way it's a good book, and you only have to go through it once. 5½ Stars.