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The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Paperback – March 1, 2001

by Robert Kellogg (Introduction), Various (Introduction), Jane Smiley (Introduction)
ISBN-13: 978-0141000039 ISBN-10: 0141000031
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The Sagas of Icelanders: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) + Njal's Saga (Penguin Classics) + The Saga of the Volsungs (Penguin Classics)
Price for all three: $38.96

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Product Details

  • Series: Penguin Classics Deluxe
  • Paperback: 848 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books (March 1, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141000031
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141000039
  • Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 2.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,464 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Icelandic Sagas are among the masterpieces of world literature whose composition stretches from about the year 1000 to 1500. Presenting the adventures of Norse and Viking heroes, the sagas are told with ritual simplicity and a realism that anticipate the modern novel. This volume offers nine full sagas and six tales, all new translations by various hands and all part of The Complete Sagas of the Icelanders, also edited by Thorsson. Published to mark the 1000th anniversary of Leif Ericksson's voyage to North America, as told in the Vinland Sagas, this selection includes (along with the Vinland Sagas) the famous Egil's Saga and that of Gisli Sursson. The volume also offers a preface by novelist Jane Smiley and a scholarly introduction by Robert Kellogg of the University of Virginia. Wonderful for anyone interested in world literature, this selection is recommended for public and academic libraries.
-Thomas L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, GA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"One of the great marvels of World Literature.... This is a dream come true." --Ted Hughes

"A testimony to the human spirit's ability not only to endure what fate may send it but to be renewed by the experience." --Seamus Heaney

"The glory of the Sagas is indisputable." --Milan Kundera

"Generally excellent, accurate and readable, these translations are sure to become the standard versions." --The Times Literary Supplement (London)
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Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
5 star
44
4 star
14
3 star
3
2 star
7
1 star
5
See all 73 customer reviews
A wide collection of Icelandic sagas and short stories.
Wyatt C. Kaldenberg
I think anyone can pick up this book and get a lot of enjoyment out of these tales.
Matthew Smith
All that aside, if you like GREAT stories, Get this book!
James924

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

174 of 178 people found the following review helpful
A bargain by any means
By Jadepearl VINE VOICE on March 23, 2001
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
For the price offered ($16) this is an amazing bargain. For the cost of two Penguin translations (2 Sagas) you get 9 sagas and multiple tales. Speaking as a person that bought the hardback the paperback is not missing anything as far as I can tell by comparing tables of contents. However, earlier criticisms that it is missing some very classic sagas such as, _Njal's Saga_ though valid should not deter you from getting this book. I will conjecture that the length of those definitive sagas were too much to put into a one volume collection.
Get the book - no shelf should be without the sagas and it is a thrifty choice.
The collection that both the hardback and softback are taken from is a large collection called _Sagas of the Icelanders_ which is about ~$600 so you might also keep that in mind when buying. By no means is this all the sagas from that massive collection but it is a good survey and there is a good further sources section.
For those who are saga junkies be aware that the Sagas of the Icelanders (Islendasogur) is only the Icelandic family sagas and not any of the Bishop Sagas nor Heroic/Mythic Sagas e.g., Saga of Hralf Kraki. So if you are hoping to score the Saga of Harold or any saga whose action is outside of Iceland or not related to one of the great families look elsewhere. Also, for saga junkies these translations do not footnote the geneaology of the characters which the Penguin translations usually did. So you get more of the original feel with "son of...daughter of.."
Overall, if you have become enthralled with the sagas or just taking the plunge for the first time this is a very good and economical choice. Be aware that it is a very thick paperback and not as sturdy as it could be. But by all means get it.
Highly recommended. If you like this set then get Njal's Saga.
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101 of 103 people found the following review helpful
Excellent translations
By Mark Henderson on April 8, 2000
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
These sagas are selected from the excellent and rare five volume set "Complete Sagas of the Icelanders". The translations are clear and readable. A glossary is provided to explain terms unfamiliar to those new to the sagas. In addition there is considerable historical background material which gives the necessary context for understanding the sagas.
If you enjoy the Old Icelandic sagas, this volume is a _must have_. If you aren't familiar with the Old Icelandic sagas, this is probably the best place to start.
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96 of 105 people found the following review helpful
Riviting, the finest introduction to a timeless literature
By E. M. Dale on March 3, 2001
Format: Paperback
The Icelandic sagas bear repeated readings - these texts are a heritage of ancient European culture that belong on the "canon lists" with Homer and Shakespeare. Their influences and histories are that important, anyone who speaks English should certainly read these stories, they are distantly related to us and are at once familiar and very strange. This massive volume is the best single-source for the sagas, and the translations are all new and take into account the most recent scholarship on the sagas. Five stars for the work and the translations, and a sixth star for the best reason to own this book, the reference section, a book in its own right: illlustrations and diagrams, historical charts, glossary (Icelandic-English), up-to-the-minute and large bibliography, maps, family ties and trees, ages of icelandic history, and essays on the social and political structure that is so important to really understading the sagas and the culture that produced them.

However, I have to subtract a few of my stars, with the proviso that I do recommend this book as a must-own for anyone interested. This may raise a few hackles, but I really think that the "Tales" could have been omitted, and either Njal's saga or Erbyggya Saga added. These are fundamental sagas (esp. the former), but perhaps this is just my own love of Njal that sways me. Naturally, the inclusion of these sagas would mean something had to go, and I think that the sagas can stand without the Tales to augment them.

All that said, the book is still a treasure, and I am very glad to see Penguin coming out with such fine volumes. After all, Njal and Ergyggja are also published in very nice translation by Penguin.Read more ›
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47 of 52 people found the following review helpful
A "Jewel" You Will Keep On The Shelf To Read Again And Again
By "slofty" on June 13, 2000
Format: Hardcover
When I saw this book on the table of "new" books at the local chain bookstore, I rushed home with exitement to order the book from Amazon - at a considerable discount!
As a Norwegian-American, I grew-up with other people named "Olaf", "Eirik", "Ragnar", "Einar", "Magnus" and "Bjorn". I always knew that these names had come from Scandinavian history - but I didn't know EXACTLY. Now I know. As children, we would hear small snippets of these stories from our parents and grandparents - but never really knew exactly where they came from. Now I know.
In this age where we are constantly told through a variety of media and social institutions that we must "appreciate" diversity and other cultures, this usually really only means a COUPLE of other cultures that happen to have a lot of political influence right now.
There are GENERATIONS of Scandinavian-American people who have completely forgotten THEIR heritage...having been lumped-together with other Western Europeans...as if they ALL had/have the same culture.
These stories of Eirik The Red, Leif Eiriksson, Odin, etc. should be force-fed to EVERY literature student in America - along with Toni Morrison, Shakespeare, Steinbeck AND Greek/Roman mythology. (Heresy, I know!) I see students every day who devour "junk" trade paperback fantasy novels, when everything they are looking for can be found in these beautifully translated sagas that are not only based on some historical fact, but are so beautifully written that they could become a foundation for much further learning.
This edition is wonderful. Beautifully bound, with a few maps and geneological charts, glossary and pronunciation guide.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Viking Tales and Iceland Sails

An interesting and entertaining perspective of a people's history. If a standard history book contains all the facts and often leaves you searching between the lines for the color... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Stuart C. Browning
Five Stars

Excellent

Published 2 months ago by Marcus Colla
Great stories, lousy translations

The Icelandic Sagas are among the greatest works of Western literature, but these translations do not do them justice. Read more

Published 2 months ago by J. Frank Parnell
Entertaining

I’m quite happy to say that there remain children even today who appreciate the sagas from the old world. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Stella Adams
This is not the Kindle edition you're looking for...

I bought this for a class I'm taking in school and I needed only one saga in it: Egil's Saga. It was not there and I was sad. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Shelby Shoaf
Not for the faint of heart

This is a reprint of earlier translations of the Eddas. The material is written in an older style that some will find difficult to get through.

Published 7 months ago by RopeMan
Not the same content as the print book.

The Kindle edition is not the same as the print book it is listed with. It has no common content at all. It should NOT be advertised as the same thing.

Published 10 months ago by Michelle Van Berkom
Don't buy. We want the Penguin Deluxe edition with a preface by Jane...

This is not the Penguin Deluxe Edition with a preface by Jane Smiley. Don't buy. Please ask publisher to provide the Penguin deluxe edition for Kindle readers.

Published 10 months ago by Amazon Customer
Left me cold...

Though I enjoyed several of the sagas (particularly Gettir), I found the presentation a bit clumsy and not translated such that things could be clearly followed. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Vance A. Stephenson
Better then I expected

This book has already provided hours of enjoyable reading for both myself and my 15 year old son and we aren't even half way done. Read more

Published 11 months ago by MEL

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