|
|
Post by allegra on Aug 5, 2013 6:56:33 GMT
I'm actually not enjoying Grendel right now. I'm only two chapters in and I'm really not enjoying the voice Gardner chose for Grendel. To me it sounds very pretentious and insecure; sort of like an I'm-better-than-you-but-I-also-hate-myself-so-hate-me-to-validate-how-I-feel attitude. Believe me, I know this was purposeful and done very well and I am pleased that Gardner was able to pull off such a complicated voice, but I also find it very distracting. Hopefully the voice improves (I'm thinking it will because the main characters are usually the most dynamic and I'm about 98% sure Grendel is the main character seeing as the title of the book is his name) and I will find the voice less distracting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lauren on Aug 7, 2013 5:05:36 GMT
I was in a similar boat as Amy, as it took me forever to finish Grendel. By first glance at the cover (I had the same stringy pictures and where the wild things are cover copy as some others)I was pleasantly surprised at how light hearted and almost childish the novel appeared. I didn't expect an AP English novel to have pictures in it, or have such large print! So going into the novel I had preconceived ideas that it would be fun and maybe even silly. Starting it I did enjoy some aspects about it, such as the extremely strong voice. It sounded more like someone simply speaking to me instead of a typical writing. I especially enjoyed the use of parenthesis. I've always loved the use of parenthesis, noted by how I've already used them in this note... I found that it really added to the journal/diary writing style.
I quickly found that this is not a childish or light hearted book (as I had previously though). It made me think and reread sections to try to understand what Gardner was trying to say. One thing I saw that clearly contradicted my hypothesis about the novel was the violence. In fact, the first thing I highlighted in my copy was "A baby bird falls feet-up in my path, squeaking. With a crabby laugh, I let him lie, kind heaven's merciful bounty to some sick fox" (Gardner 8). This quickly had me understanding that Grendel isn't a sweet and innocent Where the Wild Things Are monster, but he also isn't morbid/only thinking about the birds death. He takes a second to think that this dying bird will help a hard on his luck fox, which I think is pretty nice of him.
My opinion of the novel began to go down from there. I found his poetry distracting and constantly went back and forth between liking and disliking Grendel. For me, disliking the main character makes it very difficult to enjoy a novel. Basically I think it was a very good novel, but not a personal favorite of mine.
|
|
|
|
Post by clairem on Aug 14, 2013 23:44:58 GMT
I let this book sit on my nightstand and cause me nightmares for a few weeks before actually starting to read it. I assumed the worst before ever reading the book, expecting Grendel to be a mythical creature who would speak in Shakespearean tongue but walk on all fours, I really didn’t know what I was getting into. After delving into this novel and pushing through to the end I am pleasantly pleased with how much I enjoyed it. I am not usually a fan of violence, gore, bestial creatures, mythical creatures, or gibberish and even though this book contained all five of these things I found myself laughing, often! Sometimes I was laughing at the unnecessary amount of metaphors that Gardner used or the fact that almost everyone in the novel that was mentioned had a name that started with the letter ‘H’. I also found the book surprising me on many occasions as I found myself riveted to the life advice and insight that the dragon discusses with Grendel, intrigued by the elusive King of Gods, and truly observing human nature from a third party perspective. There were times when I was very confused by his word choice, times when I really disliked his writing style that would switch every page, and times when I was very discouraged with Grendel and his actions and feelings. Overall though, this book really made me think and I was not expecting it to do so. This sounds rather dumb because most books require some thinking to get through, but Gardner really pushed the boundaries of my mind. It made me look with a closer magnifying glass at the tendencies of human nature as well as the concepts of time, love, and power. I was rarely ever bored by this book and I had more nightmares in anticipation of the novel than I ever did after reading it. It truly entertained me and was thought provoking and I think that before reading it I hated it more than when I finished it!
|
|
|
|
Post by cassiecumberland on Aug 31, 2013 0:37:18 GMT
Someone had revealed to me previously that Grendel was some sort of prequel to Beowulf (I know nothing about Beowulf except for I remember the movie trailer when a half animated man brutally shouts "I AM BEOWULF!!!" while holding a severed head and axe or something) but Grendel was much different than I thought it'd be. From the cover, I wasn't expecting a monster- but a werewolf. I agree with you, Amy, about Grendel reminding me of a hobbit-like name. I personally loved the style that Gardner used, my favorite lines being:
And now, silence.
Darkness.
It is time.
(166)
Grendel truly thrives in all things dark, which as I've stated before, completely bewilders me. I am not friend of evil, but the novel was eye opening about the human-race and what it's like on the other side. I appreciated Gardner's commentary on the existence of GOD (or lack there of), his over-use of blood and gore, and his pseudo-manic characterization of Grendel. What I also found most interesting was how Grendel would often say "YOU'RE INSANE" to anyone he didn't understand, yet he is the most misunderstood character. Is he therefore the INSANE one? I think so...
|
|
