Beowulf by Caitlin Kiernan - reviewed by Samantha_kathy

My review for the modern adaptation of Beowulf by Caitlin Kiernan. I loved this one and hope that comes through in the review. Comments welcomed.

Beowulf by Caitlin Kiernan - 5 stars

This book is a modern adaptation of the old heroic poem of Beowulf. Kiernan herself notes at the end that ‘if a teacher or professor has assigned you Beowulf, this novelization doesn’t count. Not even close.’ I cannot comment on how close this novel resembles the original tale, but I can say with certaintly that it is a story of which the skalds of old would be proud.

As a reader, I am usually taken in by great characters and swept away by amazing plots. Beowulf has both, but it is the prose that was the highlight of this book for me. Normally, if the writing doesn’t annoy me for some reason, I rarely pay attention to it. So the fact that this book has me waxing lyrically about the prose is telling. The way Kiernan worded everything is superb. It breather the atmosphere of old and while reading it I could hear the tunes that would’ve accompanied the skald in his singing of this tale. But through this all, it stayed very down to earth and readable, making the story a true work of art.

All in all, I am in awe of this book. It might be based on the screenplay of the similarly named movie, but it’s from a quality I rarely see in books. I am totally in love with this tale and highly recommend it to everyone. Forget the original Beowulf, go read this!

Nice review - given that you state it's a modern adaption, it might be worth mentioning how they moderised it?

I would, but I have no idea how they did it :). I know nothing of the original Beowulf, so I couldn't even say if they followed the original plot or if they added things. If I went by the flavor of the words and how everything happened, I would even believe this was the original version, except that it's not in poem form but in normal prose.

It's a very nicely done review. There's two things I'll point out and I think they were both just mis-types:

2nd paragraph, 6th sentence: It breather the atmosphere of old... did you mean 'breathes' or 'breathed'?

3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence: ...but it’s from a quality I rarely see in books. I don't understand what that sentence means.

Thanks for the comments. I fixed it, so here's my final version. I did mean 'breathes', and I changed the sentence you didn't understand to: '...but the novelization is from a quality I rarely see in books.' Does that make it clear?

******

Beowulf by Caitlin Kiernan - 5 stars

This book is a modern adaptation of the old heroic poem of Beowulf. Kiernan herself notes at the end that ‘if a teacher or professor has assigned you Beowulf, this novelization doesn’t count. Not even close.’ I cannot comment on how close this novel resembles the original tale, but I can say with certaintly that it is a story of which the skalds of old would be proud.

As a reader, I am usually taken in by great characters and swept away by amazing plots. Beowulf has both, but it is the prose that was the highlight of this book for me. Normally, if the writing doesn’t annoy me for some reason, I rarely pay attention to it. So the fact that this book has me waxing lyrically about the prose is telling. The way Kiernan worded everything is superb. It breathes the atmosphere of old and while reading it I could hear the tunes that would’ve accompanied the skald in his singing of this tale. But through this all, it stayed very down to earth and readable, making the story a true work of art.

All in all, I am in awe of this book. It might be based on the screenplay of the similarly named movie, but the novelization is from a quality I rarely see in books. I am totally in love with this tale and highly recommend it to everyone. Forget the original Beowulf, go read this!

Hey Samantha.

I still don't understand what that sentence means. I dunno. Maybe it's me.

Do you mean ...the novelization is of a quality I rarely see in books?

I may just be missing it. Other than that, I think it's a good review.

Just out of curiosity, did reading the book make you want to go read the original Beowulf?

I think ...the novelization is of a quality I rarely see in books? would indeed be the correct way to say it. I have no clue how else to word what I mean.

I've always wanted to read the original Beowulf, but it's one of those 'one of these days' things (the same as reading Les Miserables, The count of Monte Cristo and all of Shakespeare's works. But this book has certainly made me more curious as to the content of the original. I think it would be fun to see how different it is.

In your review you said 'from a quality' instead of 'of a quality'. It was the 'from' that was throwing me.

I've always wanted to read the original Beowulf, but it's one of those 'one of these days' things

My recommendation would be to read it quick, while this version is still fresh in your mind. It might shed some light on the original (though I suppose it could color your interpretation of the original too).

I share the same 'one of these days' problems. I want to read Moby Dick and various Henry James, Faulkner and Shakespeare works and lots of other, random stuff. I've actually picked up all of the 'No Fear Shakespeares' and did read Hamlet solo (though I think I would get more out of it if I read it with a group).