Njal's Saga (Classics)

by Magnus Magnusson (Author), Hermann Palsson (Author)

54 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0140441031

ISBN-10: 0140441034

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Product details

Publisher : Penguin Classics (October 30, 1960)
Language : English
Mass Market Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 0140441034
ISBN-13 : 978-0140441031
Item Weight : 9.1 ounces
Dimensions : 5.14 x 0.72 x 7.74 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,045,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10,703 in Literature
- #11,312 in Mythology & Folk Tales (Books)
- #13,961 in Family Saga Fiction

Customer Reviews:
54 ratings

Customer reviews

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4 star		9%
3 star		9%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from the United States

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A. Huber

a great saga. It is several stories revolving slowly to ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2015

Verified Purchase

The Burning of Njal Thorgeirsson is, simply, a great saga. It is several stories revolving slowly to destroy an upright man who does all the right things. It touches poignantly on historical matters, incidentally, but perhaps most notably the brief insertion concerning the conversion of Iceland to Christianity. Saga literary style is more or less sanguine.The neophyte may require some contemplation to find the humor as well as casual heroism. Personalities often are developed slowly; the reader's enjoyment lies in taking sagas bit by bit existentially.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sarang Gopalakrishnan

Fast-paced and Fun

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2003

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It's an interesting type of narrative, with lots of action and very little internal analysis. It's a fast read, but worth re-reading, since the characters' motivations often take some thought to understand. The story is grim and pessimistic: Njal's efforts to help his friends and family escape their "fate" become less and less successful as the saga goes on, and ultimately he resigns himself to his fate and is burnt alive in his house. Njal is clever, a legal expert, and a man of peace (a _beardless_ man): he symbolises the restraining influence of intellect and law over his bearded and violent contemporaries. As the saga develops, we see both Njal and the Icelandic legal system ageing and becoming less effective. After his death, things get even worse: the legal "trial" of the Burning of Njal turns into a pitched battle, and after that Njal's son-in-law (who escaped from the burning house) goes on a revenge spree that ends only when it runs completely out of steam.
Several of the incidents involve magic, but it's treated in a matter-of-fact way, as just another of the things that happen to normal people. Obviously, you aren't going to increase your appreciation of the story by wondering whether the events could actually have happened.
I like this edition. The translation is readable, and the introduction and notes are helpful, even if they could have been more concise. The genealogies have been relegated to the footnotes, which I think is an excellent idea.

8 people found this helpful

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Jake

A classic

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018

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This translation is the best I’ve come across, and Njals saga is truly a tale for the ages. The Icelandic tale covers the feud that lasts generations and the epic battles that take place between two families, as recorded by an author from the Middle Ages.

One person found this helpful

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Martin

Funny Vikings

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2013

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The Vikings had a sense of humor. For instance, one guy is on a horse that runs completely out of control. And he's in serious danger of being thrown off. In Viking terminology that is expressed like so: "The horse ran faster than he cared for." The presumably true story is about a feud that starts out as a minor dispute and then ends up in a full scale war between families.

2 people found this helpful

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firefly

Must-read

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2016

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This is the translation to read, for first-timers to the sagas. You'll be amazed that you're reading 12th century writing.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Nice

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

Nice

Helpful

WILLIAM G. MORRISSEY

AN IMPORTANT STORY

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2009

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NJAL'S SAGA IS A GREAT STORY AND FOR ME AN IMPORTANT LITERARY MUST!
THIS BOOK RICHLY DESERVES A PLACE ALONGSIDE ANY CLASSIC WORK OF
LITERATURE, AND IN MY OPINION THE READER CAN LEARN ALOT IN THE PROCESS.
THIS PARTICULAR TRANSLATION: WITH EXCELLENT PREFACE AND GLOSSARY, ENABLE
SOMEONE NEW TO THE 'SAGA GENRE' TO ENJOY AND UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE.
I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK HIGHLY AND HAVE PURSUED OTHER WORKS BY THESE
WRITERS (MAGNUSSON & PALSSON).

4 people found this helpful

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dave burger

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2016

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I LOVE this book.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Steven Janes

Great translation and notes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2012

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Before buying this, I did a bit of research into which were the best translations to get. Having read many criticisms of the current Penguin Classic version, I went for the Magnusson one.

The translation is very easy reading, and did not get in the way of the story. One feature I especially appreciated was putting all the genealogies into footnotes - so you can read them if you want to, but can also easily skip them.

In every translation, they must make choices. In this one, they decided to anglicise endings of place names. This made for easy reading, but complicates things when you try to follow the action on a map, or when comparing the same events when recorded in another saga (with a different translation).

There are also some useful notes at the back - for every character they give a mini-synopsis of the main events of their life and when it happens. Given the large amount of characters (and the sometimes confusing or similar names) this was very useful to me.

In summary: Not having personally read the new Cook translation I can't give a direct comparison, but I can tell you that the Magnusson one is worth having

4 people found this helpful

mirobola

Gripping story.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

Quite rightly famous. This story of Njal's life and death, his wisdom and his kindness. We read of the machinations of the plotters, the ambushes, heads flying with one blow of the axe. There is much entertaining gossip and very moving accounts of loyalty. The fire had me almost in tears. I liked the biblical-type genealogy, though as I knew they would, the names confused me but still gave me pleasure in reading them.

Angelina H

Would buy again

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2018

Verified Purchase

Prompt service. Used condition> Ok. Would buy again

Glo

Classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

I read this years ago for school so an enjoying reading it again, in English this time. The only drawback is that there's a massive spoiler on the back cover, I've put a sticker over it so my husband doesn't read it when it's his turn to read it.

One person found this helpful

Kindle

Hate to be the one to write a review not ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

Hate to be the one to write a review not based on the book's content, but the blurb spoiled the ending for me, which I found very frustrating. Having never read it before I would have liked the ending to remain a surprise, rather than have the blurb go "Njal Thorgeirsson who, [insert spoiler]". If you can restrain yourself from reading the blrub, go ahead and buy it. But beware.

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