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Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories (Penguin Classics)

Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories (Penguin Classics)

List Price: $13.00
Your Price: $9.75
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A classic Old Icelandic character study
Review: Hrafnkel's Saga is one of the classics of Icelandic literature, and for good reason. It tells the story of a man with a not-too-pleasant character who must endure--and learn from--the misfortune caused by his own actions. Hrankel's Saga is very rich in terms of the insight it gives into Old Icelandic society and its understanding of honor and justice.

As is usual for the family saga genre, the writing style is spare and terse. Much is implied rather than stated outright, and a close reading is often necessary to catch the subtleties of characterization. Because of its short length, Hrafnkel is a great place to begin saga reading, even better in my opinion than the similarly short but more "romantic" Gunnlaug's saga which is often the first saga assigned to beginning students. I've read both several times, both in English and in Old Icelandic, and I find Hranfkel's Saga much more complex and satisfying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A classic Old Icelandic character study
Review: Hrafnkel's Saga is one of the classics of Icelandic literature, and for good reason. It tells the story of a man with a not-too-pleasant character who must endure--and learn from--the misfortune caused by his own actions. Hrankel's Saga is very rich in terms of the insight it gives into Old Icelandic society and its understanding of honor and justice.

As is usual for the family saga genre, the writing style is spare and terse. Much is implied rather than stated outright, and a close reading is often necessary to catch the subtleties of characterization. Because of its short length, Hrafnkel is a great place to begin saga reading, even better in my opinion than the similarly short but more "romantic" Gunnlaug's saga which is often the first saga assigned to beginning students. I've read both several times, both in English and in Old Icelandic, and I find Hranfkel's Saga much more complex and satisfying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Great Short Saga to Cut Your Teeth On
Review: It's not easy to dive cold into the world of the Icelandic saga. One of the advantages of reading HRAFNKEL'S SAGA and the shorter sagas and tales in this volume is that you get a good idea of the best of the genre in less than 150 pages. According to Magnus Magnusson in his excellent book ICELAND SAGA, "it is nothing short of a masterpiece, a brilliantly wrought short novel that has been published and translated and written about more than any other saga."

Given that, what can you expect? In the strange world of the Icelandic saga, there is little mention of the deity other than in passing: To the Icelanders of the classic age, all that mattered is what strength and cunning and stamina YOU had, and whether you could rely upon any stouthearted friends of like mettle in a pinch. At the heart of every saga are one or more conflicts. The better man does not always win; justice does not always triumph. Hrafnkel is heroic, but he is no hero: In our time, he would be a convicted felon for slaughtering his shepherd Einar. In the age of the Vikings, he was a stern man of his word in whom people could rely.

Curiously, even in today's Iceland, adherence to the Judaeo-Christian tradition is seen only as an alternative, one imposed from without. The minister at the pulpit is as likely to discuss Hrafnkel and the other great Saga heroes as he is the Gospels. In a way, the sagas are taken as scripture.

The oddest thing of all is that most of them were probably written by Medieval monks: Christianity there underwent a strange sea change into something rich and strange.

So as you read these instructive tales, consider that they represent a different world view in a tiny island nation whose people know them by heart. The Icelandic language today is virtually identical to the Old Norse spoken by the first settlers of Iceland. Imagine if English were identical to the Anglo-Saxon of BEOWULF!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Brief and enjoyable
Review: The word "saga" doesn't necessarily mean a long story. This book collects seven of the Icelandic classics into about a hundred pages, plus some historical commentary by the translator.

Iceland around 1000 AD was a remarkable place. It was a rough, Norse culture, but had an effective democracy and system of courts. Many sagas, including most of these, are dramatic stories of pride and revenge. That still leaves room for courtroom manueverings (as in the Ale-Hood story), for protection by powerful lords (as in Hreidar the Fool), and for several kinds of uneasy peace (as in Halldor Snorrason).

Hrafnkel's Saga is by far the longest in the collection, and the widest ranging. Fortunes are made, upset, and reversed again. Revenge is hot and bitter. It's almost a soap opera, with tales of adventure mixed in. That's probably why these stories have lasted through all those centuries when story-telling was the form for recalling history and for passing the long Nordic winters.

The translations are smooth and readable, and the stories are exciting. This is a brief, enjoyable, and thought-provoking read. It's also an enjoyable introduction to this wonderful tradition of stories.

//wiredweird

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Saga Assortment Gives a Flavour of the Genre
Review: This short volume provides a good introduction to the area of Icelandic Saga literature. Centring around Hrafnkel's Saga, but including six other bite-size tales, the style of writing may be a little dry for some tastes. However, for me, the plain-speaking narrative reflects a harsh way of life on the North Atlantic island. The action revolves around individuals, their families and followers, and reveals a surprisingly political edge to early life in Iceland. It is not a case of epic plots - the issues are at a personal level. These tales were recorded for a later audience , perhaps as salutory tales - instructions, not just stories. The characters are often abrupt in word and deed, but I found this a refreshing, and often amusing, change from less prosaic fantasy adventures - after all, these are (mostly) real people, and real life. This book encouraged me to read more sagas, and I haven't been disappointed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Saga Assortment Gives a Flavour of the Genre
Review: This short volume provides a good introduction to the area of Icelandic Saga literature. Centring around Hrafnkel's Saga, but including six other bite-size tales, the style of writing may be a little dry for some tastes. However, for me, the plain-speaking narrative reflects a harsh way of life on the North Atlantic island. The action revolves around individuals, their families and followers, and reveals a surprisingly political edge to early life in Iceland. It is not a case of epic plots - the issues are at a personal level. These tales were recorded for a later audience , perhaps as salutory tales - instructions, not just stories. The characters are often abrupt in word and deed, but I found this a refreshing, and often amusing, change from less prosaic fantasy adventures - after all, these are (mostly) real people, and real life. This book encouraged me to read more sagas, and I haven't been disappointed.


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