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Grendel's Mother: The Saga of the Wyrd-Wife, by Susan Signe Morrison
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An amber bead. A gold and glass drinking horn. A ring engraved with Thor's hammer – all artifacts from a Germanic tribe that carved a space for itself through brutality and violence on a windswept land . Brimhild weaves peace and conveys culture to the kingdom, until the secret of her birth threatens to tear apart the fragile political stability. This is her story – the tale of Grendel's Mother. She is no monster as portrayed in the Old English epic, Beowulf. We learn her side of the story and that of her defamed child. We see the many passages of her life: the brine-baby who floated mysteriously to shore; the hall-queen presiding over the triumphant building of the golden hall Heorot and victim of sexual and political betrayal; the exiled mere-wife, who ekes out a marginal life by an uncanny bog as a healer and contends with the menacing Beowulf; and the seer, who prophesizes what will occur to her adopted people. We learn how the invasion by brutal men is not a fairy tale, but a disaster doomed to cycle relentlessly through human history. Only the surviving women can sing poignant laments, preserve a glittering culture, and provide hope for the future.
- Sales Rank: #457724 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.52" h x .52" w x 5.53" l, .65 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 237 pages
Review
In Grendel's Mother: the Saga of the Wyrd-Wife, an emotionally rich retelling of Beowulf, Susan Signe Morrison reveals the tragically human monsters obscured by the heroic bravado of the original poem. Only a scholar and poet steeped in Anglo-Saxon literature and culture could conceive of such a lyrical extension of the poem from the perspective of the women in the mead hall. Reading it opened the poem to me as never before. What a gift! Grendel's Mother is sure to become an integral part of every class on Beowulf. (Candace Robb, author of the Owen Archer Mystery Series and, as Emma Campion, A Triple Knot 2015)
This fascinating narrative is to readers today what John Gardner's Grendel was to readers of the 1970s. Grendel's Mother gives extra pleasure to lovers of medieval culture, since Morrison has enriched her novel with numerous treasure pieces taken from the earliest literatures of northern Europe. Poignant and yet exhilarating, Morrison's story surrounding the women of Beowulf has a universal appeal that will keep readers captivated from beginning to end. (Haruko Momma, Professor of English, New York University, author of The Composition of Old English Poetry Feb 2015)
Morrison's historical novel explores the legend of Beowulf.On the shore of the land of the Scyldings arrives a baby found in a boat of foreign make, swaddled in salt-encrusted blankets and accompanied only by a silver spoon, an illuminated book, and a piece of gold jewelry. The foundling is taken in by a local fisherman and his wife, who name her Brimhild. The young king, Hrothgar, sanctions the adoption, though the king's mother is sure that the alien girl will bring only misfortune to the land. From a local “mere-woman” Brimhild learns the lore of the land and its magic. From a traveling Irish monk she learns of a religion that worships a pitiable, gentle god. Brimhild grows to adulthood, rising to a place of prominence among her new people: she becomes the wife of Hrothgar and oversees the construction of Heorot, an immense hall that becomes the pride of the Scyldings. She bears the king a son, Grendel, a sensitive child she raises secretly in the faith of Christ. Yet Brimhild sits at a crossroads between old ideas and new ones, and the truth of her origins threatens her placement at the head of her adopted tribe. Her betrayal and fall from grace give birth to a new set of stories, one in which she and her son are defamed for all time. Morrison writes in alliterative, lyric prose that evokes the Old English of her source text: “There she saw the soft seaweed, barnacled bed, of a marine monster. Leaving her work, approaching with caution, she listened for linnets along the lime lane.” An incredible world is spun out of blunt, staccato words: a world of customs and objects, of heroes and faiths, and, of course, monsters. Morrison manages to update the medieval morality of the original poem while preserving its mournful sense of the old ways passing away.An enchanting, poignant reimagining of Beowulf. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/susan-signe-morrison/grendels-mother/ (Kirkus Reviews, Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1st, 2015)
About the Author
Professor of English at Texas State University, Susan Signe Morrison lives in Austin, Texas, and writes on topics lurking in the margins of history, ranging from recently uncovered diaries of a teenaged girl in World War II to medieval women pilgrims, excrement in the Middle Ages, and waste.
Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A Medieval Treasure-Hoard
By Story Circle Book Reviews
In Grendel's Mother: The Saga of the Wyrd-Wife, Susan Morrison has given us the story behind the Old English saga of Beowulf, an epic hero who saves his people from the monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. But in Morrison's telling—a powerful extension of the story and a deep and compelling glimpse into the culture that produced it—Grendel is a tragic hero and his mother a real and fascinating woman. Morrison names her Brimhild and portrays her throughout her life: the mysterious child who appears on the shore in a cradle-boat; the noble wife and exalted hall-queen of the Scylding king Hrothgar; the target of political intrigue and duplicity; and a banished healer and seer who is both eagerly sought-after and desperately feared, a witness to the destructive violence around her and to come.
A medieval scholar with an impressive command of her material, Morrison embellishes this powerful narrative of a medieval woman's rise and fall and with threads of Celtic and Germanic legend and myth—herbal medicines, mysterious charms, riddles, poetry, and lore—and sets it all within the context of overwhelming political and cultural change. Her richly evocative prose echoes the poetic structure of Old English alliterative verse. From the "Prologue," depicting Brimhild's arrival:
"Long after the frost ogres fought with the gods, before Rome was sacked, when our ancestors, the northmen, pillaged in their longships and plied the whale's path, a woven basket floated on the salt-rimed sea. The basket, woven wave-rider, rocked with the flood, moon messenger. Foamy white peaks washed the suckling to the shore, sandy beach haven. Salt-encrusted, the maiden slept, skin sun-tattered scarlet. Breathing in land wind, the girl-lady stirred, sensing the end of the flood, womb sheltered. That was an innocent child."
I wish I'd had Morrison's novel when I was teaching Beowulf; my students would have had a much stronger sense of the real-life struggles that lay behind and created the mythic poem. Those who don't know the poem will appreciate Morrison's work on other levels, for Grendel's Mother tells a universal story of heroic dimensions through the eyes of a woman who sees and understands and deeply feels everything that happens. It is a rare glimpse into a world that is both profoundly alien and surprisingly, wrenchingly, our own.
by Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
That was a good book.
By rowan
Morrison weaves together a tale that includes not only narrative strands from Beowulf, but also many of the poems in the Anglo-Saxon corpus of work and historic details of life for people in this time and place. The result is something incredible and hard to explain without spoiling some of the story; she turns Beowulf on its head and gives an entirely different view of the events in a fantastic and clear style. And like any good Anglo-Saxon story, there's sex, violence, and alliteration. What more could one desire?
If you're familiar with Anglo-Saxon culture and writing, you'll enjoy the easter egg hunt of references. If you're new to it, this is a fantastic introduction, because she has an extensive bibliography in the back to get you reading more. I cannot recommend this book enough.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
A twist on the story of Beowulf.
By Annette
Source: Free copy from Susan Signe Morrison and Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for a review.
Rating: 5 stars for excellent.
My Thoughts:
Back in high school I remember reading (or not reading) Beowulf. For me, Beowulf was a struggle and I don't remember grasping the story. The story seemed masculine and with uncouth characters. In 2013, I read Beowulf and fell in love with the epic poem. I love the history behind the story. I love the time period when it was written. I love the characters. I love the themes. I love the dramatic scenes. I love the writing style.
There are several reasons I have given Grendel's Mother 5 stars for excellent.
1. The author's knowledge of the subject, and especially her knowledge of medieval history.
2. Secondary stories of Grendel's father and relatives. Grendel's mother's parents and parentage.
3. A beautiful love story.
4. A twist on the story of Beowulf. The author creates, a what might have been, and it is a thought provoking perspective on the characters motives and reactions.
5. Grendel's Mother is still a masculine story, but it's balanced by several strong female characters. Each of these women are representative of varying personalities and character development. For example, a female servant who has every right to feel bitter. Instead, her strength is in fortitude, wisdom, and sacrificial love.
6. It is believed Beowulf was passed down in an oral tradition before being written. I read aloud some of Grendel's Mother. I'd read silently through the first page before realizing the writing style had a particular cadence reminding me of poetry.
7. Grendel's Mother has several examples of song lyrics. These songs give voice to love and life.
8. Grendel's Mother portrays the story of the everyday life and labor of both the common people and those who lived in the court. From hanging seaweed to dry, to learning herbal lore. From pagan religion, to Christianity. From an apprenticeship, to raiding parties.
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