This is the story of Beowulf, as told from the monster's perspective. It's an interesting take on a old, old poem, and one that is fun to read. It also is making me want to re-read Beowulf.
Grendel is an intelligent, introspective being who explains why he does what he does. Sometimes, he just feels like eating people, other times he manages to suppress his instincts. He is careful not to be seen or heard when he spies at the goings on in the meadhall, though he often has to remind himself not to laugh or sigh at people's actions.
It's a witty book, at times funny and sarcastic. It delves into philosophy, questioning mankind's reliance on war, and its views on politics, religion, and governance. It also delves into the mysteries of time and space, with an acute amount of self-awareness -- for a monster.
"Not only ancient history ... but my own history one second ago, has vanished utterly, dropped out of existence," Grendel muses at one point. "King Scyld's great deeds do not exist 'back there' in time. 'Back there in time' is an allusion of language. They do not exist at all. My wickedness five years ago, or six, or 12, has no existence except as now, mumbling, mumbling, sacrificing the slain world to the omnipotence of words, I strain my menory to regain it."
Grendel, as depicted by artist J.R. Skelton (Image from Wikipedia)
Yes, this is an old book. With a copyright of 1971, it's some 46 years old. But hey, it still more recent by some thousand years than the Old English poem it's based on.
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