Saturday Samplers, a book discussion group meeting at Bernardsville Public Library, will take on Grendel, a masterpiece of modern fiction by John Gardner, at its next meeting this Saturday, June 7th at 3:30 p.m.
John Gardner was a medievalist, college professor, mentor to many authors, and a highly noted author himself. Some of his famous works include October Light, Nickel Mountain, The Sunlight Dialogues, and his last work, Mickelsson's Ghosts, written just before he died in a motorcycle accident while commuting to his teaching job in 1982.
The story of Grendel, while based on the poem of Beowulf, takes on its own narrative arc which divurges from the original Anglo-Saxon work. Here Grendel himself speaks his own mind while telling the story of his 12 years' war with the Danes. He is given a witty but cynical voice, and he is capable of great feeling and angst as he attempts to find his place in a world he sees as either "connected" or one of "mechanical nothingness."
Gardner wrote this short book with a great sense of imagery, humor, and a clever use of literary and philosophical allusions. Grendel is a one-of-a-kind, amazing reading experience. Join us this Saturday.
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