Grendel

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There are many fantastic monsters that have been created and immortalised through literature –Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, Jaws, to name a few. A good monster is not only a crucial challenge for the story’s hero to overcome it’s as strong a character as any of the protagonists and supporting cast. One monster that does not get nearly the amount of adulation he deserves is Grendel, the giant, invulnerable brute from Beowulf.

Grendel’s role in the epic poem is great but over all too quickly and there’s a missed opportunity to get to know the inner character of the beast: he’s merely depicted as a violent and bloodthirsty brute. John Gardner shares this view and has remedied the irritation with a short, but strong retelling of the tale in Grendel.

In this delightfully melancholy book Grendel is the confused and lonely monster that roams the country and watches the progress of man and its civilization. At first having an interest and admiration for the poets and their powers with words and concepts, Grendel quickly develops a keen hatred of humans and their conflicting natures. After being attacked as a youngster, he enters into a years-long feud against King Hrothgar, a feud that steadily increases in bloodshed and body count.

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Given that we know Grendel as a mindless killing machine, Gardner’s book takes that image and wears it down through lengthy internal monologues that illustrate a lonely, but keen and conscious existence. Grendel suddenly becomes this melancholy character fully fleshed out by his poetic and lengthy vocabulary as well as ability to grasp the concepts of religion, faith, and cynicism. 

Jealousy is a driving force as he watches humans –a pinnacle of pack animals- and reflects upon his own existence. As a monster he’s spot on and the violence and horror of his actions are not changed from the original story, so there is still a cringing amount of bloodshed and gore.

At times his meditations can become a little straining, but on the whole Grendel is a clever and interesting take on a classic monster and a fascinating study in character.

Grendel was written by John Gardner and published Alfred A. Knopf in 1971.