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Njál's Saga

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Njál's Saga

By: Anonymous
Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery
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About this listen

Based on events that took place between 960 and 1020 AD, Njál 's Saga is a mesmerizing drama about a multigenerational cycle of violence and retribution, and the feuds and passions that perpetuate it.

The eponymous sage Njál, known for his keen legal mind, is one of Iceland's pre-eminent men, along with Gunnar of Hlidarendi, a fierce and formidable warrior married to the diabolical Hallgerd, whose conniving instigates the interminable pattern of romance, action and brutality - until one unforgivable act ends it all.

Njál 's Saga is considered the greatest of the Icelandic sagas and is notable for its historical value, as it provides glimpses of a society transitioning away from the Iron Age to the Middle Ages, and establishing the social and legal mores of its present.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2019 Naxos Audiobooks Classics Europe Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Scandinavia Scary Icelandic Sagas

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Gunnar doesn’t do so many ‘voices’ in this narration but over all an excellent reading

One of the greatest stories I’ve read

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This is one of the most famous of Icelandic sagas and rightly so. It recounts a chain of events spanning a hundred years, a society that kept faith with the Norse gods before adopting Christianity by a vote at the annual parliament, where honour was reckoned by a talent for manslaughter as well as legal cunning, and where vengeance could be paid in blood or silver. The final settlement gave me chills. The narrator is a native Icelandic speaker who pronounces person and place names deliciously. I’d love to hear more Icelandic sagas read by this narrator

If you only ever listen to one Icelandic saga….

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Very involving reading of the greatest saga of blood feuds in 10th and 11th Century Iceland. Memorable characters and superb reading by Gunnar Cauthery. Legendary heroes and one celebrated female character who is at the heart of every dispute. Beautiful and devious! Brilliant!

Great epic saga

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An ancient book takes us to a different world, to another reality. I was stunned by the world of the saga of the ancient nordic warriors. They turned out to be warrior-poet-lawyers. My ignorant expectations were that they knew only how to fight and kill. In the world of Njal’s saga, yes, they do kill. And the author does describe the killings in meticulous detail. But then between the killings they sing elaborate poetic songs. And, what is most interesting, after the killings they go to court in the Things (general assemblies) and fight intellectually exhaustive legal battles to agree the terms of atonement for the killings. They did have a sort of rule of law. The resolutions of the Things were generally thoroughly observed. Not an easy read, but definitely worth the effort. 

warrior-poet-lawyers

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Listening to Njál's Saga has been a very different experience to the modern adventure stories I usually opt for, but I'm very glad I did. Particular compliments to the narrator Gunnar Cauthery whose laconic tone suits the saga very well, and who also (as far as I can tell) pronounces the names of the characters and places perfectly. It was fun slipping into a very different world, with very different conventions of genre, every morning as I got up to get breakfast ready.

This is a fairly recent translation, I think. The free online text is full of archaisms - thees and thous and so on - but this is in plain standard English.

Excellent choice

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Little else I can say about a story which has lasted nearly a thousand years, and which I first read when I was nine. I'm really grateful for the proper pronunciation of the names, as I'd previously only encountered them in print

Epic

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