tinnuben's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism, Genocide, Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Grief, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, War, and Xenophobia
fiendfull's review against another edition
4.0
Epic Continent is a literary travelogue that charts the locations, history, and reception of six European epics. Focusing on change, war, and dominant narratives, these stories often span locations and Jubber travels across Europe, from Greece and Turkey of the Odyssey to Iceland for the Saga of Burnt Njal, to follow their progress. They are all major works—most will be familiar in name if not content, especially Beowulf, the Odyssey, and Song of Roland—and the focus is on major moments in history and important landscapes. At the same time, there is a lot of focus on modern Europe, on the refugee crisis and unity; Jubber meets a lot of refugees on his journey and also notices how similar tensions are found in the epics themselves.
The mix of travel with literature and history is an interesting one, feeling similar to other writers who combine specific journeys to find the locations of things and stories with descriptions of the people they meet there and their own reactions. The personal—from the lives of the refugees Jubber meets to a continuing theme of grief and dealing with it—is surprisingly present in a book about travelling through the great epics. Much of these stories' reception history is tinged with the same violence, conflict, and ideological problems as occurs in the stories themselves (most obviously the Nibelungenlied and the Kosovo Cycle) and Jubber tries to highlight this, though it is clear he would need more space to fully explore the issues. Instead, the book has to pass through a lot of material in a short space, fitting six epics into one book.
It is likely that Epic Continent will draw in people interested in the epic works, but what is perhaps most notable is the way Jubber's travels through their locations and history give space to reflect on modern Europe and its divisions and problems. In some ways it is a manifesto for cross-border stories and a shared epic tradition, even though the history and content of these is not straightforwardly good.
The mix of travel with literature and history is an interesting one, feeling similar to other writers who combine specific journeys to find the locations of things and stories with descriptions of the people they meet there and their own reactions. The personal—from the lives of the refugees Jubber meets to a continuing theme of grief and dealing with it—is surprisingly present in a book about travelling through the great epics. Much of these stories' reception history is tinged with the same violence, conflict, and ideological problems as occurs in the stories themselves (most obviously the Nibelungenlied and the Kosovo Cycle) and Jubber tries to highlight this, though it is clear he would need more space to fully explore the issues. Instead, the book has to pass through a lot of material in a short space, fitting six epics into one book.
It is likely that Epic Continent will draw in people interested in the epic works, but what is perhaps most notable is the way Jubber's travels through their locations and history give space to reflect on modern Europe and its divisions and problems. In some ways it is a manifesto for cross-border stories and a shared epic tradition, even though the history and content of these is not straightforwardly good.
jenjuniper80's review against another edition
3.0
This was part European travelogue, part homage to notable European epic tales. The author travels the places in these tales attempting to tie together these famous places where these tales take place and how they have impacted the culture of Europe of today, often crossing borders (for example, The Song of Roland takes place in at least 3 different countries). Some of the epics I was familiar with such as The Odyssey and Beowulf but less familiar with stories such as The Kosovo Cycle. I enjoyed the fresh perspective on the stories and want to go and delve into some of the unfamiliar ones. I found the writing a bit dry and draggy at times, but I think that can sometimes happen with travelogues...overall a good read if you are a fan of travel writing and ancient literature.
anekov's review against another edition
5.0
Epic Continent by Nicholas Jubber is a very well written and fascinating journey through Europe on the footsteps of six European epics. But it is so much more than a travelogue - from Greece to Iceland the author weaves a common thread through the epics and the places connected to them. He explores the impact of the epics on both European and national identity, how through the decades politics has used and abused them, and how relevant they still are in today's turbulent political and social climate.
essicajay's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
Excellent read - I enjoyed the modern day connections. These stories are truly alive!
halfmanhalfbook's review against another edition
4.0
Before the written word, stories were spoken, and those that were popular became learnt by others and spread further afield. The best known of them, such as Odyssey and Beowulf, became epics in their own right. We now know them, as they have been written down and even transferred to the screen, but are the people where these stories emerged from still aware of them?
Award-winning travel writer Nicholas Jubber, decided to find out for himself if he could still find traces across the European continent of these stories in the countries that they originated. Beginning in Chios, just of the Turkish coast is where he starts looking for The Odyssey, the story of the aftermath of the Trojan War. Here it doesn’t take long for him to find traces from the story on the wall in graffiti, as well as meeting people who still seek meaning and comfort from the tales. He listens to recitals, debates over gritty coffee about the power it still has and manages to mislay various things…
The second story in the book is the Serbian Kosovo Cycle. This is about the battle between the sultan Murad and Prince Lazar. It is a fairly bloody and brutal affair if truth be told, and it is often recited by guslars, or bards, who play a single-stringed instrument called the gusle. It was a story of rebellion too, as the recitals evolved as they were under the Turkish occupation, before becoming more written down in the early nineteenth century. There is a much darker and more recent aspect to them though, the stories were used as propaganda by Milosevic who exploited it to bring his own conflict to the region. The stories that he is following through Europe tend to be draped over the culture of each of the countries, but this story is unique that one of the main characters, Prince Lazar, remains can still be seen in a church in Ravanica. He wanted to hear the epic recited by a gusle, heading to the mountains, he didn’t know if he would find one though.
The third story in the book is the French Song of Roland, another battle between the forces of Christendom and Islam. The story was originally written in the eleventh century and then was rediscovered in the Bodleian library by a French scholar who was following a mention in Chaucer. Since that, a further nine manuscripts of the epic have been found. But as it is a French story, the place to start would be Sicily and then onto Spain, before eventually making it to France. Sicily is an amazing island, I know, I saw a little of it last year and it has long been a melting pot of cultures and civilisations. Whilst there he visits the puppeteers in Palermo who have been performing the story for several generations; this may be the last though as people are more interested in their phones that performances.
A brief trip across Sardinia takes him to Saragossa in Spain for the next element in this epic, there he sees the influence that the Moors had over the town before moving onto Roncesvalles to see the place where a major battle took place in the epic. Then on a train to the town of Rocamadour in France to experience the Black Madonna in the twelfth century Chapel of Notre Dame.
Another country and another epic beckons, this time it is Germany and the fantastical The Song of the Nibelungen tracks the collapse of a Germanic kingdom on the edge of the Roman Empire involving dragons, murder and betrayal. All a bit Game of Thrones really… This is another of those stories that was misappropriated by the government of the time. The German Nazi government in the 1930s used the messages within for their own propaganda.
Finally, we make it to the UK for Beowulf, that was first written down around 1000 years ago, but first came to light because of the work of an Icelandic bibliophile. It was first seen as a Danish story but has now come to be the only surviving Old English epic. It is full of fantastical tales and elements like the dark fens, feasting in old halls and dragons one again that is somehow familiar to us. This may be because of one JRR Tolkien who robustly interpreted it and used many of the themes in his own books.
The final epic in the book is the great Icelandic Saga of Burnt Njal. there is still the tumult of murder, revenge and betrayal that we have come to expect from the other stories, but Unlike all the others this one has a lawyer in the story. The place is quite spectacular from his descriptions in the book as well as being incredibly wet and windy from the storms. It is so very different from where he began his journey in the balmy Mediterranean in Greece.
This is the second book of Jubber’s that I have read and it is as equally enjoyable as that other one. Epic Continent is part history book, part travelogue and him seeking those threads that run right back to the stories of old. It is quite staggering to think that words that were written a millennia ago still can have power and most importantly resonance in the modern world. It is sometimes amusing and I like his sense of immediacy that he comes across in his writing as he deals with the minutiae of daily life as he travels. Well worth reading.
Award-winning travel writer Nicholas Jubber, decided to find out for himself if he could still find traces across the European continent of these stories in the countries that they originated. Beginning in Chios, just of the Turkish coast is where he starts looking for The Odyssey, the story of the aftermath of the Trojan War. Here it doesn’t take long for him to find traces from the story on the wall in graffiti, as well as meeting people who still seek meaning and comfort from the tales. He listens to recitals, debates over gritty coffee about the power it still has and manages to mislay various things…
The second story in the book is the Serbian Kosovo Cycle. This is about the battle between the sultan Murad and Prince Lazar. It is a fairly bloody and brutal affair if truth be told, and it is often recited by guslars, or bards, who play a single-stringed instrument called the gusle. It was a story of rebellion too, as the recitals evolved as they were under the Turkish occupation, before becoming more written down in the early nineteenth century. There is a much darker and more recent aspect to them though, the stories were used as propaganda by Milosevic who exploited it to bring his own conflict to the region. The stories that he is following through Europe tend to be draped over the culture of each of the countries, but this story is unique that one of the main characters, Prince Lazar, remains can still be seen in a church in Ravanica. He wanted to hear the epic recited by a gusle, heading to the mountains, he didn’t know if he would find one though.
The third story in the book is the French Song of Roland, another battle between the forces of Christendom and Islam. The story was originally written in the eleventh century and then was rediscovered in the Bodleian library by a French scholar who was following a mention in Chaucer. Since that, a further nine manuscripts of the epic have been found. But as it is a French story, the place to start would be Sicily and then onto Spain, before eventually making it to France. Sicily is an amazing island, I know, I saw a little of it last year and it has long been a melting pot of cultures and civilisations. Whilst there he visits the puppeteers in Palermo who have been performing the story for several generations; this may be the last though as people are more interested in their phones that performances.
A brief trip across Sardinia takes him to Saragossa in Spain for the next element in this epic, there he sees the influence that the Moors had over the town before moving onto Roncesvalles to see the place where a major battle took place in the epic. Then on a train to the town of Rocamadour in France to experience the Black Madonna in the twelfth century Chapel of Notre Dame.
Another country and another epic beckons, this time it is Germany and the fantastical The Song of the Nibelungen tracks the collapse of a Germanic kingdom on the edge of the Roman Empire involving dragons, murder and betrayal. All a bit Game of Thrones really… This is another of those stories that was misappropriated by the government of the time. The German Nazi government in the 1930s used the messages within for their own propaganda.
Finally, we make it to the UK for Beowulf, that was first written down around 1000 years ago, but first came to light because of the work of an Icelandic bibliophile. It was first seen as a Danish story but has now come to be the only surviving Old English epic. It is full of fantastical tales and elements like the dark fens, feasting in old halls and dragons one again that is somehow familiar to us. This may be because of one JRR Tolkien who robustly interpreted it and used many of the themes in his own books.
The final epic in the book is the great Icelandic Saga of Burnt Njal. there is still the tumult of murder, revenge and betrayal that we have come to expect from the other stories, but Unlike all the others this one has a lawyer in the story. The place is quite spectacular from his descriptions in the book as well as being incredibly wet and windy from the storms. It is so very different from where he began his journey in the balmy Mediterranean in Greece.
This is the second book of Jubber’s that I have read and it is as equally enjoyable as that other one. Epic Continent is part history book, part travelogue and him seeking those threads that run right back to the stories of old. It is quite staggering to think that words that were written a millennia ago still can have power and most importantly resonance in the modern world. It is sometimes amusing and I like his sense of immediacy that he comes across in his writing as he deals with the minutiae of daily life as he travels. Well worth reading.
ninjamuse's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Xenophobia
Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, Islamophobia, and Genocide
Minor: Drug use
nietzschesghost's review
4.0
Epic Continent is writer, traveller and passionate history lover Nicolas Jubber's fourth book and explores the connection between storytelling, both the past and present and the impact centuries-old tales still have throughout Europe today. It looks at some of the continents iconic tales in context — split into six parts and topped and tailed by a prologue and epilogue, this book really captures the imagination and is a truly fascinating read.
The different sections each dedicated to an influential, enduring poem or story are as follows: The War That Launched a Thousand Ships — The Odyssey, Elegies for an Everlasting Wound — The Kosovo Cycle, A Song for Europe — The Song of Roland, The Taste of Götterdammerung — The Nibelungenlied, How to Kill a Monster — Beowulf, and finally - A Wasteland of Equals — Njal's Saga. The inclusion of Sources, Further Reading and Bibliography sections at the back are a nice touch for those who wish to read more on the subject.
Jubber depicts the places he travels to in such a rich and vivid way that it's very easy to pick this up and lose a few hours between the pages and before you know it you've turned the last one. The way the author links the times in which these epics were written to the tumultuous modern times in which we live is incredibly interesting and is the perfect illustration of how history is forever doomed to repeat itself.
The potent mix of travel, history and literature is compelling and will appeal to a wide range of readers. It also highlights the fact that the state in which Europe currently finds itself in terms of the refugee crisis, widespread division and loss of confidence in the political establishment is reflected in these tales of old. Many thanks to John Murray for an ARC.
The different sections each dedicated to an influential, enduring poem or story are as follows: The War That Launched a Thousand Ships — The Odyssey, Elegies for an Everlasting Wound — The Kosovo Cycle, A Song for Europe — The Song of Roland, The Taste of Götterdammerung — The Nibelungenlied, How to Kill a Monster — Beowulf, and finally - A Wasteland of Equals — Njal's Saga. The inclusion of Sources, Further Reading and Bibliography sections at the back are a nice touch for those who wish to read more on the subject.
Jubber depicts the places he travels to in such a rich and vivid way that it's very easy to pick this up and lose a few hours between the pages and before you know it you've turned the last one. The way the author links the times in which these epics were written to the tumultuous modern times in which we live is incredibly interesting and is the perfect illustration of how history is forever doomed to repeat itself.
The potent mix of travel, history and literature is compelling and will appeal to a wide range of readers. It also highlights the fact that the state in which Europe currently finds itself in terms of the refugee crisis, widespread division and loss of confidence in the political establishment is reflected in these tales of old. Many thanks to John Murray for an ARC.