So. Since I need to read two more books in the span of two more weeks and I'm a slow reader, I decided to pick up a book that wasn't 500 pages long. Sorry, Bourne Identity, but I'll have to finish you in the second semester. So instead, I'm going to read Grendel. This book... I was reluctant to start this book because I've seen the movie of the story this book is a spin-off of. Let me tell you, Beowulf is one gory movie.
Grendel is based off of the story Beowulf, except instead of the perspective of the "heroes", it is in the perspective of the "monster", Grendel.
Grendel is... a monster. I don't know how else to describe him. He didn't really describe himself at the beginning of the book, so I'm going off of the cover. He seems to be a sort of human shaped beast. It is also stated that he is much larger than a human, and he eats any living thing he hunts. Including humans.
Still, Grendel is one philosophical beast. When he was trapped in between the trees away from his cave, he decides that life is just a meaningless accident, that he merely exists, and that's it.
While trapped in the trees, he encounters humans.
Being how he is, when Grendel discovered humans for the first time when he was young and wandered out of cave, he was immediately attacked. The humans were afraid of him when he tried to speak to them, likely because his speaking sounded like a hostile roar to them. After this, he becomes intrigued with humans. He begins to watch them from afar in their villages. While watching, he describes what he sees and discusses how he feels about them. Grendel is disgusted with humans, only seeing them plunder and murder each other for the sake of nothing but glory.He sees them start wars between tribes and sees betrayal among allies. I assume this is why he is hostile to them in Beowulf.
This is how far I've gotten in this book, almost a third done. Hopefully I'll be able to read enough books to focus back on The Bourne Identity, but until then I'm enjoying this book. It's interesting to see Grendel's thoughts on humans after seeing him in Beowulf.
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| Grendel as depicted in the book. Trust me, you don't want to see him in Beowulf. He looks 10000% more disgusting. |
Grendel is... a monster. I don't know how else to describe him. He didn't really describe himself at the beginning of the book, so I'm going off of the cover. He seems to be a sort of human shaped beast. It is also stated that he is much larger than a human, and he eats any living thing he hunts. Including humans.
Still, Grendel is one philosophical beast. When he was trapped in between the trees away from his cave, he decides that life is just a meaningless accident, that he merely exists, and that's it.
While trapped in the trees, he encounters humans.
Being how he is, when Grendel discovered humans for the first time when he was young and wandered out of cave, he was immediately attacked. The humans were afraid of him when he tried to speak to them, likely because his speaking sounded like a hostile roar to them. After this, he becomes intrigued with humans. He begins to watch them from afar in their villages. While watching, he describes what he sees and discusses how he feels about them. Grendel is disgusted with humans, only seeing them plunder and murder each other for the sake of nothing but glory.He sees them start wars between tribes and sees betrayal among allies. I assume this is why he is hostile to them in Beowulf.
This is how far I've gotten in this book, almost a third done. Hopefully I'll be able to read enough books to focus back on The Bourne Identity, but until then I'm enjoying this book. It's interesting to see Grendel's thoughts on humans after seeing him in Beowulf.
This book seems very interesting because it is in the perspective of the monster instead of the human, which is the usual protagonist. I am intrigued by the plot and want to hear more about it. Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteThis books sounds different from lots of books I've read and I really want to read it now. Nice job on writing the overarching summary and touching little details of the story.
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