Though you should be familiar with Beowulf, the 8th century Anglo-Saxon heroic epic that has influenced Western thought and storytelling for centuries, you’ve probably never read John Gardner’s Grendel
This version is wonderful, not only because of the characterizations of Beowulf and the Dragon, but also because we view the Scyldings, Hrothgar’s Mead Hall, their wars, and even Beowulf himself, from an outsider’s perspective. Grendel struggles to find his place in the universe, and ultimately realizes that his only friends, really, are the men of the Mead Hall he torments and eats.
At times sad, depressing, funny, and heartwarming, you can’t help but fall in love with Grendel as you listen to his musings on the meaning of life and watch, regaled, his adventures unfold. From Grendel, you will gain deeper insight into the original Beowulf poem. And then you will read Grendel