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# Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics)

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desertcart.com: Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics): 9780140447699: Anonymous, Cook, Robert, Cook, Robert, Cook, Robert, Cook, Robert: Books

Review: Ian Myles Slater on: A Good Translation with Attractive Features - "Njal's Saga," otherwise known as "Brennu-Njals saga," the story of Njal who was burned, and "Njala," is the longest and most highly esteemed of the stories (sagas) that later medieval (13th-14th century) Icelanders wrote about their island nation's past, from the settlement, c.870, to the early eleventh century. These are the "Sagas of the Icelanders," commonly so distinguished from the rest of the surprisingly large Icelandic (and Norwegian) literary production of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This included original and translated accounts of the lives of kings, saints, bishops, and other notables, classical histories and medieval pseudo-histories, knightly romances, retellings of common Germanic and specifically Scandinavian heroic legends, and miscellaneous other topics. Unlike the bulk of other medieval European literatures, the Sagas of the Icelanders are largely concerned with daily life in a very traditional society, limited by a subsistence economy, and unique in its political arrangements. The substance of many of the sagas are things like betrothals, weddings, divorces, and local rivalries, with ensuing lawsuits and arbitrations -- the latter of enormous importance, because during the "Saga Age" Iceland had courts and a legislature, but no executive authority to enforce decisions. Finding an endurable compromise was often the only alternative to lethal feuding (in which only the dead get relief -- and not always them, in some sagas) over unsettled issues. In this particular saga, the chains of blood feuds eventually drag down its title hero, despite his position as an expert on the law, and his frequent role as conciliator. This starts its own chain of vengeance, which fills a substantial part of the text (chapters 131-159). "Njala" has been translated into English four times, beginning with George W. Dasent's "Story of Burnt Njal" in 1861, and including a very popular translation by Magnus Magnusson and Herman Palsson, "Njal's Saga," published 1960. I have reviewed both of these; the former in a Kindle edition, the latter in its now out-of-print Penguin Classics edition. (The full two-volume first edition of Dasent, with an account of medieval Iceland, and a very full and elaborate index of characters, is available as a pdf from a Library of Congress hosted website, archive.org. There is also a one-volume abridged edition --with complete saga text, however. The Everyman's Library one-volume edition, in which the editorial apparatus is even more severely cut, is sometimes available used.) Here I intend (desertcart page placement cooperating, of course!) to review the most recent translation, by Robert Cook, which has replaced Magnusson and Palsson's version in the Penguin list, and is also available in Kindle format (at the time of writing, at a very attractive price). (Time, and desertcart, allowing, I also plan to review the 1955 translation by Carl F. Bayerschmidt and Lee M. Hollander, reprinted, with a new introduction, in the Wordsworth Classics of World Literature series in 1998.) Cook's translation was originally published in the third volume of a five-volume collection of translations, "The Complete Sagas of Icelanders (Including 49 Tales)" in 1997, and was apparently revised somewhat for the separate Penguin edition of the translation, in 2001, in addition to getting its own introduction, annotations, glossary, and character index. Cook's translation has frequently been criticized by those for whom Magnusson and Palsson's version had, for forty years, been THE English version of the saga. I agree that their rendering reads more like a novel, with the full resources of modern English grammar deployed, and the often (for moderns, at least non-Icelanders) tedious genealogies attached to most new characters relegated to footnotes (actual footnotes, at the bottom of the page, so that the curious could readily consult them). It remains, in my opinion, a splendid introduction to the saga literature, and I am somewhat dismayed that it is out of print. However, I was also familiar with Dasent's much more literal (except for some Victorian prudishness) version, and its occasional (and inconsistent) archaisms, so I am not in quite the same position as many of Cook's critics, who seem to feel that he has violated their sense of what a good translation of the saga should sound like. Unlike some translators of various sagas -- most notably William Morris and E.R. Eddison -- Cook does not go so far as to try to reproduce distinctly Icelandic phrasing in English. However, he does (by his own account), intentionally avoid distinctively modern English phrasing, for example, dependent clauses, using the text's simple conjunctions instead, and eschewing the present participle (see his "Note on the Translation"). As a result, his prose may come across as a bit stodgy; but one can quickly get used to the difference. I might have wished he had followed the existing Penguin precedent in relegating parts of the long genealogies to footnotes: but in the event that would have made the Kindle version rather clumsy to work with, as they would probably have been hyperlinked to the (figurative) "back of the book." (And, for those who go on to read other sagas, some the information in the genealogies will be quite useful.) As it is, the Kindle edition does have some problems. As in a great many sagas, verses attributed to, or supposed to be about, various of the characters appear scattered throughout the text. In Cook's translations of them, such passages in verse often have marginal annotations, which on the Kindle (or at least the Kindle app I'm using) have been run into the text on a number of occasions. This is particularly disturbing in the one long poem included, a rather gruesome visionary account of some Valkyries. Those with an appetite for more information about medieval Iceland and its literary self-portrait have a variety of historical and critical works to choose from. From the nineteenth-century, one can mention Dasent's still-impressive, but very dated, 1861 introduction and appendices, including maps and reconstruction of medieval buildings (see the pdf mentioned earlier). There is a chapter on Dasent and his translation of "Njala" in Andrew Wawn's 2002 "The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-century Britain." There is a strikingly modern discussion of "Njal's Saga" by W.P. Ker in "Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature" (1896), which is available in a free Kindle edition (also from Project Gutenberg), and also in a pdf from archive.org and Google. As modern replacements I would suggest (among other possibilities) Jesse Byock's "Viking Age Iceland" (2001), which covers the subject with Dasent-like thoroughness, modern archeological and other information, and an engaging style. It mainly discusses other sagas, so there are few "spoilers" to worry about if you decide to read it first. On the other hand, Byock's earlier (1982) "Feud in the Icelandic Saga" has a very good chapter on "Njala," which is perhaps best read as an "introduction to a second reading," so as not to spoil the story. (This will also make his discussion easier to follow.) The Publications page of The Viking Society (a UK organization formerly known as the Viking Club) website offers a free download of Hines and Slay, ed., "Introductory Essays on Egils Saga and Njals Saga" (1992), made up of lectures directed at a university-level students. It includes a section of bibliography. Also available free are several illuminating discussions of Njala (and other sagas) in the Society journal "Saga-Book," and the "Proceedings" of The First International Saga Conference (1971, published 1973) has an interesting paper on Njal, and some illuminating comments in other contributions.
Review: Better than most modern novels - Njal's Saga is perhaps the single most important and best-known of the entire body of Icelandic saga literature. By turns a legal thriller, domestic drama, and violent revenge tragedy, Njal's Saga is far more complex and entertaining than most of the modern fiction that I've ever read. Njal's Saga covers one of the most violent and tumultuous periods in European history in general and Norse history in particular. During Njal's long life the first Christian missionaries came to the island and, in 1000, the island voted to convert. Such a brief summation does no justice to the intense machinations involved and the often violent reactions of Icelanders and Christians alike. But of even greater importance to Njal's story are the many feuds in which he became embroiled and which finally claimed his life. The overall arc of the stories is far too complex to be related here, but every victory that Njal achieves comes at a heavy cost of both money and blood. Throughout, the feuding, fighting, and legal episodes at the Althing are carefully recorded and uniformly exciting. A word on the translation: Cook's translation of the saga has drawn a considerable amount of flak from fans of the more "contemporary" Magnusson translation, but such attacks are largely unfounded. Cook's aim in translating the saga was to accurately recreate the original Icelandic's terse, forthright, and completely unembellished style. Having read a number of other saga translations, I'd say this is a noble and, in this case, successful aim. This translation is exciting without catering to modern convention, something that speaks well for the power of the story regardless of translator. My only word of warning about this book: don't put it down. If you're like me, you won't have a problem with this, but for casual readers the details of plot and the many, many characters will probably slip away should one take a casual approach to the Saga. That said, this book should draw you in and never once let go once you've begun. Highly recommended.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #52,036 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #460 in Folklore (Books) #616 in Family Saga Fiction #1,347 in Classic Literature & Fiction |
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (305) |
| Dimensions  | 5.11 x 0.96 x 7.75 inches |
| Edition  | Revised ed. |
| ISBN-10  | 0140447695 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0140447699 |
| Item Weight  | 11.2 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 384 pages |
| Publication date  | May 28, 2002 |
| Publisher  | Penguin Classics |

## Images

![Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81G-LdCGwqL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ian Myles Slater on: A Good Translation with Attractive Features
*by I***R on February 6, 2014*

"Njal's Saga," otherwise known as "Brennu-Njals saga," the story of Njal who was burned, and "Njala," is the longest and most highly esteemed of the stories (sagas) that later medieval (13th-14th century) Icelanders wrote about their island nation's past, from the settlement, c.870, to the early eleventh century. These are the "Sagas of the Icelanders," commonly so distinguished from the rest of the surprisingly large Icelandic (and Norwegian) literary production of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This included original and translated accounts of the lives of kings, saints, bishops, and other notables, classical histories and medieval pseudo-histories, knightly romances, retellings of common Germanic and specifically Scandinavian heroic legends, and miscellaneous other topics. Unlike the bulk of other medieval European literatures, the Sagas of the Icelanders are largely concerned with daily life in a very traditional society, limited by a subsistence economy, and unique in its political arrangements. The substance of many of the sagas are things like betrothals, weddings, divorces, and local rivalries, with ensuing lawsuits and arbitrations -- the latter of enormous importance, because during the "Saga Age" Iceland had courts and a legislature, but no executive authority to enforce decisions. Finding an endurable compromise was often the only alternative to lethal feuding (in which only the dead get relief -- and not always them, in some sagas) over unsettled issues. In this particular saga, the chains of blood feuds eventually drag down its title hero, despite his position as an expert on the law, and his frequent role as conciliator. This starts its own chain of vengeance, which fills a substantial part of the text (chapters 131-159). "Njala" has been translated into English four times, beginning with George W. Dasent's "Story of Burnt Njal" in 1861, and including a very popular translation by Magnus Magnusson and Herman Palsson, "Njal's Saga," published 1960. I have reviewed both of these; the former in a Kindle edition, the latter in its now out-of-print Penguin Classics edition. (The full two-volume first edition of Dasent, with an account of medieval Iceland, and a very full and elaborate index of characters, is available as a pdf from a Library of Congress hosted website, archive.org. There is also a one-volume abridged edition --with complete saga text, however. The Everyman's Library one-volume edition, in which the editorial apparatus is even more severely cut, is sometimes available used.) Here I intend (Amazon page placement cooperating, of course!) to review the most recent translation, by Robert Cook, which has replaced Magnusson and Palsson's version in the Penguin list, and is also available in Kindle format (at the time of writing, at a very attractive price). (Time, and Amazon, allowing, I also plan to review the 1955 translation by Carl F. Bayerschmidt and Lee M. Hollander, reprinted, with a new introduction, in the Wordsworth Classics of World Literature series in 1998.) Cook's translation was originally published in the third volume of a five-volume collection of translations, "The Complete Sagas of Icelanders (Including 49 Tales)" in 1997, and was apparently revised somewhat for the separate Penguin edition of the translation, in 2001, in addition to getting its own introduction, annotations, glossary, and character index. Cook's translation has frequently been criticized by those for whom Magnusson and Palsson's version had, for forty years, been THE English version of the saga. I agree that their rendering reads more like a novel, with the full resources of modern English grammar deployed, and the often (for moderns, at least non-Icelanders) tedious genealogies attached to most new characters relegated to footnotes (actual footnotes, at the bottom of the page, so that the curious could readily consult them). It remains, in my opinion, a splendid introduction to the saga literature, and I am somewhat dismayed that it is out of print. However, I was also familiar with Dasent's much more literal (except for some Victorian prudishness) version, and its occasional (and inconsistent) archaisms, so I am not in quite the same position as many of Cook's critics, who seem to feel that he has violated their sense of what a good translation of the saga should sound like. Unlike some translators of various sagas -- most notably William Morris and E.R. Eddison -- Cook does not go so far as to try to reproduce distinctly Icelandic phrasing in English. However, he does (by his own account), intentionally avoid distinctively modern English phrasing, for example, dependent clauses, using the text's simple conjunctions instead, and eschewing the present participle (see his "Note on the Translation"). As a result, his prose may come across as a bit stodgy; but one can quickly get used to the difference. I might have wished he had followed the existing Penguin precedent in relegating parts of the long genealogies to footnotes: but in the event that would have made the Kindle version rather clumsy to work with, as they would probably have been hyperlinked to the (figurative) "back of the book." (And, for those who go on to read other sagas, some the information in the genealogies will be quite useful.) As it is, the Kindle edition does have some problems. As in a great many sagas, verses attributed to, or supposed to be about, various of the characters appear scattered throughout the text. In Cook's translations of them, such passages in verse often have marginal annotations, which on the Kindle (or at least the Kindle app I'm using) have been run into the text on a number of occasions. This is particularly disturbing in the one long poem included, a rather gruesome visionary account of some Valkyries. Those with an appetite for more information about medieval Iceland and its literary self-portrait have a variety of historical and critical works to choose from. From the nineteenth-century, one can mention Dasent's still-impressive, but very dated, 1861 introduction and appendices, including maps and reconstruction of medieval buildings (see the pdf mentioned earlier). There is a chapter on Dasent and his translation of "Njala" in Andrew Wawn's 2002 "The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-century Britain." There is a strikingly modern discussion of "Njal's Saga" by W.P. Ker in "Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature" (1896), which is available in a free Kindle edition (also from Project Gutenberg), and also in a pdf from archive.org and Google. As modern replacements I would suggest (among other possibilities) Jesse Byock's "Viking Age Iceland" (2001), which covers the subject with Dasent-like thoroughness, modern archeological and other information, and an engaging style. It mainly discusses other sagas, so there are few "spoilers" to worry about if you decide to read it first. On the other hand, Byock's earlier (1982) "Feud in the Icelandic Saga" has a very good chapter on "Njala," which is perhaps best read as an "introduction to a second reading," so as not to spoil the story. (This will also make his discussion easier to follow.) The Publications page of The Viking Society (a UK organization formerly known as the Viking Club) website offers a free download of Hines and Slay, ed., "Introductory Essays on Egils Saga and Njals Saga" (1992), made up of lectures directed at a university-level students. It includes a section of bibliography. Also available free are several illuminating discussions of Njala (and other sagas) in the Society journal "Saga-Book," and the "Proceedings" of The First International Saga Conference (1971, published 1973) has an interesting paper on Njal, and some illuminating comments in other contributions.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Better than most modern novels
*by J***S on February 7, 2008*

Njal's Saga is perhaps the single most important and best-known of the entire body of Icelandic saga literature. By turns a legal thriller, domestic drama, and violent revenge tragedy, Njal's Saga is far more complex and entertaining than most of the modern fiction that I've ever read. Njal's Saga covers one of the most violent and tumultuous periods in European history in general and Norse history in particular. During Njal's long life the first Christian missionaries came to the island and, in 1000, the island voted to convert. Such a brief summation does no justice to the intense machinations involved and the often violent reactions of Icelanders and Christians alike. But of even greater importance to Njal's story are the many feuds in which he became embroiled and which finally claimed his life. The overall arc of the stories is far too complex to be related here, but every victory that Njal achieves comes at a heavy cost of both money and blood. Throughout, the feuding, fighting, and legal episodes at the Althing are carefully recorded and uniformly exciting. A word on the translation: Cook's translation of the saga has drawn a considerable amount of flak from fans of the more "contemporary" Magnusson translation, but such attacks are largely unfounded. Cook's aim in translating the saga was to accurately recreate the original Icelandic's terse, forthright, and completely unembellished style. Having read a number of other saga translations, I'd say this is a noble and, in this case, successful aim. This translation is exciting without catering to modern convention, something that speaks well for the power of the story regardless of translator. My only word of warning about this book: don't put it down. If you're like me, you won't have a problem with this, but for casual readers the details of plot and the many, many characters will probably slip away should one take a casual approach to the Saga. That said, this book should draw you in and never once let go once you've begun. Highly recommended.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ People vs oj in times of the Vikings
*by M***L on January 29, 2018*

So this is a review of the saga itself and not of the translation (which I hope is faithful). The narrative is as chaotic and hard to follow as possible. There are new character popping up again and again, they share same names as old characters, which makes it notoriously confusing. Many points of narration are completely obsolete and don't add up to the story. If I'm to judge this work in comparison to it's other contemporary epic than I'd say it's readable, but not the best. If you're looking for a great Viking saga and a good read at the same time check out Egil's saga, written much more adequately. The good thing I found in Njals saga is it's uniquely exciting juridical process. Murder, revenge and dragging each other around the courtrooms was a big thing apparently back in the days, so when nation's most prominent lawyers get a go at it, the saga actually turns to be very engaging, reminding me somewhat of the recent Netflix show about oj's case. I apologise if you got misled by the headline of my review - there are no racial tensions depicted in the saga, it's characters do find plenty other reasons to exact violence.

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