The Saga of Gunnlaugur Snake's Tongue: With an Essay on the Structure and Translation of the Saga Book

When the reader has first adjusted himself to the torrent of names, so frequently dumped on his lap, he will begin to enjoy this short tale. There are many sons of great men that are mentioned constantly, but that is the style of the saga. Much weight is put on the deeds of one's forbears, and to criticise the tale because of this is to ignore a tale that is worthy of merit in its own right.



The plot of the book is centred upon the rivalry of Gunnlaug and Hrafn. Gunnlaugh loves Helga and has sorted her father's permission for marriage. His answer is, essentially, come back when you're a bit more mature and then you can have my daughter. Hrafn finds out about the arrangement and tries to steal Helga for a perceived slight against his honour. A love triangle is created which ends in blood and neither man getting the girl. This is an entertaining story, but not an overly memorable one. However, what from reading this I have found a new form of literature that I would like to read more of: the saga.

Penguin Little Black Classic- O3



The Little Black Classic Collection by penguin looks like it contains lots of hidden gems. I couldn't help it; they looked so good that I went and bought them all. I shall post a short review after reading each one. No doubt it will take me several months to get through all of them! Hopefully I will find some classic authors, from across the ages, that I may not have come across had I not bought this collection.