Davis doesn’t breathe as much life into the poem as Heaney, but conveys the storylines accurately and accessibly.
This translation of Beowulf synthesizes older translations of the Anglo-Saxon epic into a new prose rendering.
Davis’ (Don Quixote: The New Translation, 2012) effort is a departure from most translations; he bases his work primarily on the 19th-century Kemble and Hall translations, and his version focuses less on the poetry of the original and instead highlights the meaning of the text. (Seamus Heaney’s is one of the few translations that captures the dense sound play and verse structure of the original.) Davis covers all the plot points: Beowulf’s boasts; his battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon; the construction of Hrothgar’s mead-hall; and the rest. This tale faithfully follow the original, and it will appeal to those who want to know exactly what Beowulf’s anonymous poet said. But for those seeking a more complete experience, it may disappoint. This prose version ignores the syntax of the original poetry, including its rhythm, as well as the strict formal elements, such as the caesura (an intralinear pause) and the more standard techniques of lineation. Davis’ diction is almost biblical, which preserves Beowulf’s heroic and antique mood but occasionally hampers readability. For instance, a passage from Hrothgar’s speech of thanks to Beowulf evokes kingly haughtiness but also feels a bit cumbersome: “Now, Beowulf, most excellent of heroes, I shall esteem you in my heart as mine own son. Preserve you henceforward this new kinship. You will never lack aught you desire of world-goods which are mine to command.” It’s clear that Davis understands Hrothgar’s character, even though his commitment to a high register sometimes blunts the force of the original. The storytelling is lucid and lively, however, and may strongly appeal to those who haven’t yet tackled Beowulf and want an easier entry point.
Davis doesn’t breathe as much life into the poem as Heaney, but conveys the storylines accurately and accessibly.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1491250181
Page Count: 110
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
