Photo de l'auteur

John C. Gardner (1933–1982)

Auteur de Grendel

51+ oeuvres 14,611 utilisateurs 226 critiques 2 Favoris

A propos de l'auteur

John Gardner is the best-selling author of more than twenty-five books and taught creative writing at many universities, among them Chico State, Bennington College, and SUNY-Binghamton. His novels Grendel, The Sunlight Dialogues, and October Light are regarded as modern classics. He was killed in a afficher plus motorcycle accident in 1982 at the age of 49. afficher moins

Œuvres de John C. Gardner

Grendel (1971) 6,036 exemplaires
The Art of Fiction (1984) 2,052 exemplaires
On Becoming a Novelist (1983) 995 exemplaires
October Light (1976) 642 exemplaires
The Life and Times of Chaucer (1977) 603 exemplaires
L'Homme-Soleil (1972) 586 exemplaires
On Moral Fiction (1978) 488 exemplaires
Nickel Mountain (1973) 451 exemplaires
Freddy's Book (1981) 371 exemplaires
La Symphonie des spectres (1982) 341 exemplaires
The King's Indian (1976) 243 exemplaires
The Art of Living and Other Stories (1981) 232 exemplaires
On Writers and Writing (1994) 223 exemplaires
In the Suicide Mountains (1977) 209 exemplaires
The Wreckage of Agathon (1970) 198 exemplaires
Jason and Medeia (1973) 163 exemplaires
Dragon, Dragon, and Other Tales (1975) 138 exemplaires
The Resurrection (1762) 97 exemplaires
Stillness and Shadows (1986) 55 exemplaires
A Child's Bestiary (1977) 40 exemplaires
The Poetry of Chaucer (1977) 36 exemplaires
The Best American Short Stories 1982 (1982) — Directeur de publication — 29 exemplaires
Vlemk the Box-Painter (1979) 21 exemplaires
The Forms of Fiction (1962) 15 exemplaires
Lies! Lies! Lies (1999) 10 exemplaires
William Wilson (1979) 6 exemplaires
Poems (1978) 5 exemplaires
Frankenstein (1979) 4 exemplaires
Rumpelstiltskin (1980) 3 exemplaires
The Temptation Game (1980) 2 exemplaires
MSS, Spring 1981 1 exemplaire
Flamboyant Drama 1 exemplaire
On Books 1 exemplaire
The Red Napoleon 1 exemplaire
Music From Home 1 exemplaire

Oeuvres associées

L'Épopée de Gilgamesh (1700) — Traducteur, quelques éditions9,833 exemplaires
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1380) — Traducteur, quelques éditions8,517 exemplaires
Eric Carle's Animals Animals (1989) — Contributeur — 2,176 exemplaires
Eric Carle's Dragons, Dragons (1991) — Contributeur — 712 exemplaires
Elsewhere: Tales of Fantasy (1982) — Contributeur — 143 exemplaires
The Literary Ghost: Great Contemporary Ghost Stories (1991) — Contributeur — 75 exemplaires
Superfiction, or The American Story Transformed: An Anthology (1975) — Contributeur — 44 exemplaires
The Best American Short Stories 1978 (1978) — Contributeur — 25 exemplaires
Tales of Dungeons and Dragons (1986) — Contributeur — 23 exemplaires
Masters of British Literature, Volume A (2007) — Contributeur — 20 exemplaires
Homer's Iliad: The Shield of Memory (1978) — Avant-propos, quelques éditions5 exemplaires

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1970’s American Literature à Name that Book (Juillet 2016)

Critiques

Beowulf's Grendel telling its side of the story. Is Grendel a ferocious monster, a mess-up child of a inattentive mother, or something else? Gardner has kept me confused.
 
Signalé
podocyte | 106 autres critiques | Feb 17, 2024 |
This parallel/companion novel to the legendary story of Beowulf is told from Grendel's perspective. Grendel is a monster who lives deep in a cave with his mother, whose precise nature is unclear, though she seems to be large, slow-moving and unable to communicate (in my head she looked something like a giant, monstrous larva, YMMV). Grendel one day ventures beyond the cave to hunt, at which time he encounters humans for the first time. He spends hours, days, years observing them, fascinated — but, you know, being a monster he's also hungry, so he frequently attacks and devours them as well.

The question I kept wondering throughout the book is what exactly is Grendel? He's certainly large and powerful with the ability to tear men limb from limb as easily as snapping a twig. However, he's also impulsive, overconfident and quite childlike at times. Every now and then we get a glimpse of a conscience. As a reader I wavered between sympathy (is it his fault he is the way he is?) and horror (so much violence and gore). The narrative occasionally wanders into philosophical territory, where I have to admit my eyes may have glazed over temporarily until the linear narrative resumed. I approached Grendel with a familiarity of Beowulf limited to what I had gleaned exclusively via cultural osmosis, so naturally I'm now significantly more curious to learn more about the original work.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
ryner | 106 autres critiques | Jan 21, 2024 |
4.5/5 Having taught BEOWULF for a number of years to my sophomore honors, why didn't I have them read this, too? This book is not simply a retelling of BEOWULF from the monster's point of view; it is highly intellectual and philosophical as Grendel seeks to find some sort of meaning to his life. Drawn to and repulsed by humans, he reminds me of Frankenstein's creature, who also seeks the purpose to his existence. Several philosophies are explored here, most of which I can't wait to look into. The trope of reading a story from the supposed villain's point of view is not new, but it is absolutely heart-wrenching here. I dare anyone who reads this not to be touched by Grendel's utter isolation and loneliness. What a read.… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
crabbyabbe | 106 autres critiques | Jan 18, 2024 |
Tentative rating. Will give it another try.
 
Signalé
A.Godhelm | 106 autres critiques | Oct 20, 2023 |

Listes

1970s (4)
AP Lit (1)

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Statistiques

Œuvres
51
Aussi par
12
Membres
14,611
Popularité
#1,575
Évaluation
3.8
Critiques
226
ISBN
245
Langues
14
Favoris
2

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