The Making of a Monster

John Gardner's "Grendel"

By: Ryan Webb

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

“That’s it?” I ask myself as I close John Gardner’s novel, Grendel, and place it on my desk. “Where’s the decisive battle between Beowulf, the herculean warrior, and Grendel’s outraged mother? Where’s the scene of the mighty thane slicing off dead Grendel’s ugly head and carrying it proudly into King Hrothgar’s mead hall? Why does Gardner not show us the restoration of peace to the land of the Danes?” Leaning back in my chair, I think, “Why doesn’t John Gardner’s novel mimic the end of the epic, Beowulf, on which it is based? Why does Gardner downplay the great Geat warrior, and allow Grendel to escape thinking it was merely an accident that brought about his demise? Where is the unwavering triumph of good over evil? Hmm, I sigh . . . I must work harder to find the meaning behind the mysterious monologue of this miserable monster.”