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solaireastora's review
4.0
This book follows the life of Egil Skallagrimsson - a man who defies simple descriptions. He isn't very likeable - a greedy, determined man who is sometimes chaotic and sometimes capable of great cunning and craft. However he can also be kind, and he is a highly skilled poet (and possibly a sorcerer?) The poems were a great part of the story and I felt they allowed me to understand Egil better.
His family is caught up in the power struggles of Norwegian royalty, often antagonizing various Kings, and so he resettles in Iceland. These conflicts take up a large portion of the book, involving much intrigue and bloodshed. Egil goes on many adventures after establishing his Icelandic farm - from Sweden to England - and they are interesting to read about.
This book provides an interesting description of tenth century Viking life, and Egil is certainly a memorable person, although I didn't enjoy it as much as Njal's Saga.
His family is caught up in the power struggles of Norwegian royalty, often antagonizing various Kings, and so he resettles in Iceland. These conflicts take up a large portion of the book, involving much intrigue and bloodshed. Egil goes on many adventures after establishing his Icelandic farm - from Sweden to England - and they are interesting to read about.
This book provides an interesting description of tenth century Viking life, and Egil is certainly a memorable person, although I didn't enjoy it as much as Njal's Saga.
mashedpotatoandsaladcream's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“my tongue is sluggish for me to move, my poems scales ponderous to raise… since heavy sobbing is the cause… i was in league with the lord of the spears, pledged myself loyal to beliehe in him, before he broke off his friendship with me… now my course is tough: death, close sister of odins enemy, stands on the ness: with resolution and without remorse i will gladly await my own”
egil skallagrimsson is one of many in a line of hard headed men (proven by a little scene at the head that his head was in fact literally too hard that even an axe would not break it after he had bene long dead) who were almost born to conflict against norwegian kings, born to believe themselves above the common scoundrel.
he kills his first man at the age of 7 (“egil ran up to grim and drove the axe into his head, right through to the brain. then egil and thord walked away to their people”) and it’s only 5 or so years later that he ends up killing his fathers right hand man on the farm after his father killed his friend. one can admire his commitment. when young he gets in trouble CONSTANTLY, he threatens his way out to travel with his brothers and often says a snappy poetry verse in response to the things happening around him.
he works his way up to being key military figures in king aethelstans army where egil finally begins to recognise grief and sadness in his long bald life. and it would not be the only death he grieves as he is later seen grieving his sons death so resolutely that his daughter has to trick him into drinking and then writing a poem to help himself accept and grieve. if i have to take anything from this saga it’s his poetry as he grieves his close family members.
“the ground will grow over my great brother near wen; deep as my sorrow is i must keep it to myself”
“my tongue is sluggish for me to move, my poems scales ponderous to raise. the gods prize is beyond my grasp, tough to drag out from my minds haunts. since heavy sobbing is the cause… i was in league with the lord of the spears, pledged myself loyal to believe in him, before he broke off his friendship with me… now my course is tough: death, close sister to odins enemy, stands on the ness: with resolution and without remorse i will gladly await my own” (a long 25 stanza poem on his feelings over his sons death and his inability to get vengeance, seeing the death as compensation for his skills in poetry. who could go against odins wishes?)
there are MANY fight scenes, often violent with head chopping and eye pulling and slow deaths and they all go to show how physically blessed this family is but also how with these attributes comes a fickle personality and pride. although it is not acknowledged with his personality, the saga mentions how this “it was a family of contrasts” (although this is said about them either being horrifically ugly or astronomically beautiful).
it’s not the hardest saga i’ve read to get through but it’s not this big exciting one either. i largely enjoyed it for egils pettiness but it does go in on his uncle, father, and brother at the start so egil is central for just over half of it. id say read it for just the grief poems i’ll be honest. it’s what got me through it.
egil skallagrimsson is one of many in a line of hard headed men (proven by a little scene at the head that his head was in fact literally too hard that even an axe would not break it after he had bene long dead) who were almost born to conflict against norwegian kings, born to believe themselves above the common scoundrel.
he kills his first man at the age of 7 (“egil ran up to grim and drove the axe into his head, right through to the brain. then egil and thord walked away to their people”) and it’s only 5 or so years later that he ends up killing his fathers right hand man on the farm after his father killed his friend. one can admire his commitment. when young he gets in trouble CONSTANTLY, he threatens his way out to travel with his brothers and often says a snappy poetry verse in response to the things happening around him.
he works his way up to being key military figures in king aethelstans army where egil finally begins to recognise grief and sadness in his long bald life. and it would not be the only death he grieves as he is later seen grieving his sons death so resolutely that his daughter has to trick him into drinking and then writing a poem to help himself accept and grieve. if i have to take anything from this saga it’s his poetry as he grieves his close family members.
“the ground will grow over my great brother near wen; deep as my sorrow is i must keep it to myself”
“my tongue is sluggish for me to move, my poems scales ponderous to raise. the gods prize is beyond my grasp, tough to drag out from my minds haunts. since heavy sobbing is the cause… i was in league with the lord of the spears, pledged myself loyal to believe in him, before he broke off his friendship with me… now my course is tough: death, close sister to odins enemy, stands on the ness: with resolution and without remorse i will gladly await my own” (a long 25 stanza poem on his feelings over his sons death and his inability to get vengeance, seeing the death as compensation for his skills in poetry. who could go against odins wishes?)
there are MANY fight scenes, often violent with head chopping and eye pulling and slow deaths and they all go to show how physically blessed this family is but also how with these attributes comes a fickle personality and pride. although it is not acknowledged with his personality, the saga mentions how this “it was a family of contrasts” (although this is said about them either being horrifically ugly or astronomically beautiful).
it’s not the hardest saga i’ve read to get through but it’s not this big exciting one either. i largely enjoyed it for egils pettiness but it does go in on his uncle, father, and brother at the start so egil is central for just over half of it. id say read it for just the grief poems i’ll be honest. it’s what got me through it.
ipanzica's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting story that spanned generations. Personally I liked Egil's part of the story best and disliked the parts of the story that shortly follow the life of a king and then quickly mentions who they married and how many children they had.
claudia_lin13's review
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
robin_booklabpartner's review
Did I read 100% of this? No but I read most of it so I’m gonna count it. I read this for my Vikings literature class so I’m not gonna rate it, and also because I have like no thoughts on it. But uh yeah, kinda boring but like I said, I did not read the entire entire thing
briandice's review
4.0
Epic in scope, engaging in its telling, this Icelandic / Norwegian history is worth the read. Unlike Homer's in media res, this story must be told from the beginning; and don't worry if the list of characters starts to feel like the Bible's Book of Numbers, the narrative will remind you that there really is nothing new under the sun. Humans behaved both honorably and like shits at the turn of the first millenium, just as they do at the end of the second.
This saga was read as part of [b:The Sagas of Icelanders|102534|The Sagas of Icelanders|Jane Smiley|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327958756s/102534.jpg|98862]
This saga was read as part of [b:The Sagas of Icelanders|102534|The Sagas of Icelanders|Jane Smiley|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327958756s/102534.jpg|98862]
devfor96's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jcarden710's review
4.0
This was a great read for anyone interested in Viking sagas. Egil is a very interesting character to be such an influential figure for Icelanders, and the stories presented in this saga are rather entertaining.
aaronreadabook's review
An interesting one because it deals with a lot of the early settlers of Iceland, and our good mate Athelstan makes an appearance. There's a very strange bit involving puking.
abirdsall's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5