Reviews with content warning for Grief - Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, together with Sellic Spell

This epic poem is the forefather of much of Western high fantasy and lore. I enjoy seeing parallels to works like those of Tolkien, Gaiman, and Sanderson: lords, warriors, great halls, named swords, lengthy descriptions of shields and armor, sworn fealty, rings and ring givers, codes for good kingship, swift horses, dragons, treasure hordes, and monsters lurking in the darkness out of stories of old.

It is also intersting to hear how these ancient Scandinavians / Anglo-Saxons overlayed and combined Christian elements with their own cultural values and older pagan religious myths and practices. Syncretism is a near universal human tendancy, and it's fascinating to see such an old example as a new belief system was sweeping across pre-modern Europe.

This was an enjoyable and approachable translation to hear in audiobook format.

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xkrille's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I read it for university, and it was fine. I did not hate it, but at the same time, it was not for me. It was interesting enough, and I can somewhat see why it's a classic.

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expertfisherfox's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A classic. This particular copy had the translation on one side of the page and the original text on the opposite, which was fascinating to look at and compare.

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godraed's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Heaney's heroic translation
proves the poet
a master of the medium

Heaney's translation does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the original poem. He created a modern masterpiece from the Old English original.

Adventure, grim oaths, monsters, and a window into the worldview of another time.

Gath a wyrd swa hio scel.

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jaan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Beowulf has very quickly become an all-time favourite. The reason I didn't give this audiobook edition 5 stars is because Heaney abridged his own translation, and the verses he dropped are integral to an interpretation I find to be very rich.

I listened to this edition as I read Heaney's 1999 facing-page translation. I LOVED his narration. He was not a very dynamic narrator, but he was slow, steady, deliberate, and he gave the poem a depth I would not have felt if I didn't listen along (Beowulf was always meant to be heard anyway, not read). I cried a little towards the end when Beowulf recalled his service in Hygelac's retinue: "I marched ahead of him, always there / at the front of the line; and I shall fight like that / for as long as I live, as long as this sword / shall last" (2497-2500).

I got 150 lines in before immediately becoming a Grendel apologist, btw.

Beowulf is a poem about many things: grief, predestination, war, self-actualization, etc. It's about the relationship between the Danes, the Geats, and the Swedes, a meditation on what a man's descendants owe to him, to what extent goodwill endures between generations, the punishment a man inflicts for his victim's grandparents' actions. It is about the lives women must piece together betwixt the death and loss and tragedy of war, and the agency they might exercise to prevent further violence (these are the verses missing from Heaney's abridged narration, but existing in his facing-page translation).

Give this story a chance. It helped that I read it with my book club, at my own pace (instead of for a class, during which I would have been rushed by deadlines).

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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I listened to it on audiobook mostly while falling asleep so I missed a lot of it. I really enjoyed the introduction which was mostly the history of the Beowulf. I definitely enjoyed the parts I was tuned in for and plan to reread it in book format.

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I had to read this for a college course, and I have to admit that it's one of the better books I've had to read for school! The translation and context provided by Seamus Heaney went a long way in my enjoyment and understanding of the epic poem. It reads a lot like the Greek epics: The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid. It's a classic hero's journey tale: Beowulf battles monsters, avenges the lives of those cut down in battle, confusing family trees where all the names sound the same, and lots of hyphenated descriptions of people and beasts.

It may help to know that if you have to read this for school, I was able to read the whole thing in about 6 hours while taking notes for class, and I'm a slow reader. I hope you find it as easy and interesting to read as I did!

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sarah984's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

If you're not a fan of Beowulf the poem (full disclosure that I am not, way too much meandering and masculine posturing) this won't exactly change your mind. I didn't really find it particularly feminist as advertised, aside from a few jabs at how many women in the poem go unnamed and gendering the dragon.

The modern language generally works well, though a few bits did stand out as kind of silly. Overall, it feels like a drunk guy clamouring to tell a story in a bar, which feels accurate to the original. I think I might have liked it more as an audiobook.

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