Customer Reviews

The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Icelandic sagas bear repeated readings--these texts are a heritage of ancient European culture that belong on the "canon lists" with Homer and Shakespeare. Their influences and histories are that important, anyone who speaks English should certainly read these stories, they are distantly related to us and are at once familiar and very strange. This massive volume is the best single-source for the sagas, and the translations are all new and take into account the most recent scholarship on the sagas. Five stars for the work and the translations, and a sixth star for the best reason to own this book, the reference section, a book in its own right: illlustrations and diagrams, historical charts, glossary (Icelandic-English), up-to-the-minute and large bibliography, maps, family ties and trees, ages of icelandic history, and essays on the social and political structure that is so important to really understading the sagas and the culture that produced them.

However, I have to subtract a few of my stars, with the proviso that I do recommend this book as a must-own for anyone interested. This may raise a few hackles, but I really think that the "Tales" could have been omitted, and included should have been two sagas that inexplicably were left out: Njal's Saga and the Eyrbyggja Saga. How a book on the poetry of the North Atlantic could have left out these two sagas I do not know, but it is almost reason enough not to buy the book. It cannot claim to be a book on "The Sagas" because it leaves out these two fundamental sagas. The inclusion of these sagas would mean something had to go, and I think that the sagas can stand without the Tales to augment them. This was a sad mistake, and makes this book at best a "Selection of the Sagas of the Icelanders." I really hate that the editors didn't see fit to include them, I just cannot imagine missing Njal or Eyrbyggja and then claiming to have "read" the sagas (Hrolf Kraki is also missing). The reader misses so much with the absence of these materpieces.

All that said, the book is still a treasure, and I am very glad to see Penguin coming out with such fine volumes. After all, Njal and Ergyggja are also published in very nice translation by Penguin. It would have been nice to really have them ALL here, but that is only almost reason not to buy it--but not reason enough. If you love Nordic poetry and literature, even if you own editions of these sagas, you should still have this one.

It might be useful to end with what IS here, saga-wise:

Egil's Saga

Vatnsdaela Saga

Laxdaela Saga (w/Bolli Bollison's Tale)

Hrafnkel's Saga

Bandamanna Saga (Saga of the Confederates)

Gisli Sursson's Saga

Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue's Saga

Ref's Saga

The Vinland Sagas

This is an outstanding and inexpensive collection of the Sagas. It is a bargain at it's list price, and any discount thrown on top of that is just a little more icing on the cake.

The collection is a good sampling of all of the available sagas, with a good mix of short and long.

Egil's Saga is, at least based on date of occurence, the first of the Sagas and is a must-read. It's long, and the poetry will take a few times to get, but it is a classic.

Also of note in this collection are the Vinland Sagas, which tell the tales of the Icelanders who made it to present day North America, some 4 centuries before Columbus.

When picking from the plethora of 40 Sagas, something is going to be left out. Njal's Saga is noticeably missing, but to their defense Njal's is also the largest saga and it probably would have meant cutting 4-5 of the other sagas out of this book. As I understand it, this is planned to be a series of books and undoubtedly will be part of the next book.

Overall, this is a good inexpensive way to get into the sagas.

My historian Father sent me this after I made some sort of witless comment about Leif the Lucky, & when it arrived I was somewhat taken aback -it is HUGE, close to 800 pages if you include index & glossary-but once you dive in, it is hard to put it down. Here we get the stories of the Viukings of the Northwest Atlantic -the Icelanders of the title plus the doomed expeditions to Greenland and Vineland-told in all their wild glory. Of course one wishes one could read it in the original, of course one wishes to hear it sung, but this is the story of a real "other" history that all too often gets left out of the standard texts. This collection contains 10 sagas and several Tales by different translators. While having a number of different folks doing the translation makes for a somewhat uneven "voice" overall I found myself slipping from saga to saga with no trouble. The book includes a nice introduction, several useful maps, plus some simple diagrams of Norse ships and buildings. Anyone with an interest in sea-farers and the history of the north would be well advised to hit their "one-click" buttons right now, then, as soon as the box comes, throw an extra log or two on the fire, pour yourself a flagon of the closest you can get to mead & kiss the rest of the day goodbye -you are in for a treat!

Admittedly, the first is Egil's, which is perhaps second only to Njal's saga (not included in this selection), but I just devoured all the other sagas in the book in no time and have been collecting more and more ever since. What a great introduction to the fascinating world of the Vikings! The sagas represent different styles and geographical locations, giving a good idea of the breadth and depth of the genre. The introductions, annexes and maps are extremely clear and helpful in understanding the context of the time in which the sagas are set. If you read this review, you are probably already somehow interested in the subject: BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

The Icelandic sagas are interesting in their own right, but much better when the translation is done well. For example, the kennings are not only translated well (especially in Egil's prolific poetry) but explained well by copious (but not overbearing) footnotes. The maps showing approximate locations of important houses, Althings and sites is a nice touch that drives home the reality that these are much more than just stories, they are a literary history of a people. An excellent book.

This is simply a great collection of Sagas--a treasure-trove for the beginning student of Norse Studies. At 700+ pages, you essentially can't go wrong.

This book reads like a soap opera crossed with Genesis... as most stories begin by telling the line of the characters involved. The sagas included are a good selection of Icelandic heroic prose, and are highly entertaining. The book even includes an appendix on life in Iceland during the time of the Sagas.

I loved this book, because it lets you get in touch with the vikings psychologically. One can understand their ways after reading this book. Aside from this, it is an enjoyable read! Adventurous, intriguing, and inspiring!

The Sagas of the Icelanders is an excellent collection of nordic literature in an affordable and attractive book. Heavily notated, with maps detailing the settings of some of the stories, this is an excellent way to get started in learning about the lives of the Scandanavian and Icelandic people.

The stories richly describe the heroism, psychology, strength, values and day to day life and decision making of the people within these tales. This is inspiring and entertaining literature which should grace the shelf of anyone interested in the study of history, anthropology, epic literature, or norse religion.

A collection of the Icelandic Sagas as translated by various scholars on the subject. A range of years are covered starting with pre-Christian paganism and finishing in Christian era morality. I have to say that the pagan parts were a bit more interesting, but I guess that's the heathen in me speaking.

All in all, very worth reading. Read this after you read the Song of Roland, Beowulf maybe, and while listening to Wagner, maybe some Gotterdammerung. Get that Teutonic angst going and you're good to go.

P.S. Skallagrim rocks.