--The Christian Science Monitor"The literary equivalent of an action- and intrigue-filled adventure movie that won't insult your intelligence...Orm is a charismatic character, and Bengtsson is an infectiously enthusiastic and surprisingly funny writer — even readers with zero interest in the Europe of a millennium ago will want to keep turning the pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, At the end of the dark tenth century , Vikings and their ancient customs were changing rapidly, the bold men, sea pirates and land raiders didn't recognize it, that was a fatal mistake, the harsh climate of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, even distant Iceland, slowly becoming nations did not make illiterate peasants there wealthy, just the opposite, much easier to rob, than working on poor farms, scratching a living in the unpredictable cold weather, an unproductive soil. Reading this marvelously good-humored ale-broth of a book, you say: this is how it must have been to be a Viking chief a thousand years ago. Krok: The leader of the campaign to Spain. Start by marking “The Long Ships” as Want to Read: Error rating book. The prose is one fresh breeze of a story after another. Red Orm is our hero, a strangely lovable barbarian who begins the novel as a pubescent naif and ends it as a wealthy chieftain. It has its moments! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2018. [rimshot!] This article is about the novel by Frans G. Bengtsson. However, one can hardly overlook the fact that the book was actually written in a very specific part of the 20th Century - during the Second World War, a time when Nazi Germany was involved in a horrific persecution and massacre of Jews, while the Nazis claimed the Viking heritage for their monstrous version of German and Germanic Nationalism.

Orm is a viking, doing his viking things. What an entertaining read - adventurous, enthralling, unexpected, and with vivid characters. The book is set in the late 10th century & follows the adventures of Orm ("serpent"), called "Red" for his hair & his temper, a native of Scania. A translation of this book is really hard to achieve actually.

The fun starts from the very first chapter where it is dryly suggested that the reason the Northmen were so fond of going a-viking to the ends of the known world every spring was to escape the sharp tongues and the fiery tempers of their beloved consorts. There is a lack of sentimentality in Y1K that makes the, Another tough book to review--mainly because it has already been reviewed so well by folks like Kalliope and Manny, among others.

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To which I say yes... and no. There was a problem loading your book clubs. The story chronicles Viking life and, specifically, the missions of the book's main character. The book was first published in the 1940's and the Swedish used had not been modernized for the edition I listened to. I am a stranger to Norse fiction, but all the same, I'm surprised that a book of this calibre had not come to my attention before.

The book lets you join Red Orm and his many compatriots as they go a-viking from Sweden to Spain, having adventures and winning both riches and fame in the bargain, and it’s just a fun time all arou.

Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Chapters are more like an historical drama series episodes, and have neat little reminders of previous action to help remind the reader who is who and therefore the likely issues they will bring to the story. Following this final crisis and from then on, Orm and Toke live in peace and plenty as good neighbours, and Svarthöfde Ormsson becomes a famous Viking, fighting for Canute the Great.

NYRB Classics; Illustrated Edition (July 6, 2010), Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2019. The Long Ships or Red Orm (original Swedish: Röde Orm meaning Red Serpent or Red Snake) is an adventure novel by the Swedish writer Frans G. Bengtsson.

Orm - a Viking that goes a-viking, has many adventures, learns much, has great luck (overall), and tries out a few different religions along the way.

It used to be one of the most widely read books in Sweden. I'm not really giving anything away there. Written in 3rd-person Viking, THE LONG SHIPS gives a more favorable view of the Norsemen, especially Orm Tostesson, who travels widely and sees the World, such as it was in the 10th century A.D. During the following years (992 to 995), Orm prospers, and Ylva gives birth to twin girls (Oddny and Ludmilla), a son, Harald, and later to another son (though possibly from Rainald), Svarthöfde (Blackhair in the Michael Meyer translation).

The fun starts from the very first chapter where it is dryly suggested that the reason the Northmen were so fond of going a-viking to the ends of the known world every spring was to escape the sharp tongues and the fiery tempers of their beloved consorts. Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2017. Please try again. Of course, I mean old school booty, as in creaky wooden chests filled with gold coins and jewel-encrusted amulets.

This is just another day. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Many people in the book were actual historical figures and Bengtsson does an excellent job of portraying some of them, esp. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Translation for us mere mortals: There are no boring parts to skip...Bengtsson writes the most delightful version of historical fiction...Here is the buried treasure, readers, newly unearthed. what a plunge!" They move to a neglected farm, his mother's inheritance in Göinge, northern Skåne, near the border with Småland. Before that, though, seeing as how I’m foaming over with excitement and appreciation, I have multiple people to thank. [7] Filming was expected to start in Västra Götaland in 2016, however Film i Väst decided to end their collaboration with Aalbæk and the film project was cancelled. Early in his career, Bengtsson had held a romantic view on the saga literature, promoting an elevated, almost sacral prose in translations, but when writing The Long Ships he instead made use of the saga's faculties for wisecracks and comic understatements. Let me say that 'The Long Ships' was the most fun read I've had in a long time. With time I fou.

In 1941 he published Roede Orm, sjoefarare i vaesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Western Way), followed, in 1945, by Roede Orm, hemma i oesterled (Red Orm at Home and on the Eastern Way). Orm later returns to Scania with Rapp. The first book covers the years 982 to 990. I'm not implying that non-Scandinavian people were pussies, but I haven't read any novels about them, so they're temporarily irrelevant.

The story follows the intrepid Red Orm from his youth through to maturity as a husband, father and warrior of renown. Thanks to Jan for recommending this. Another tough book to review--mainly because it has already been reviewed so well by folks like Kalliope and Manny, among others. The book has been translated into at least 23 languages.

Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Something went wrong. With Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, Russ Tamblyn, Rosanna Schiaffino. In the 1980s, there were plans for a large-scale Swedish screen adaptation.

The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the adventures of the Viking Röde Orm - called "Red" for his hair and his temper, a native of Scania. Welcome back. While still a youth, Orm is abducted by a Viking party led by Krok and they sail south. Historical allegories are always useful when you live in troubled times but don't necessarily want to talk directly about them because you never know who might be listening, and obviously for painting a bigger picture with older roots than newspapers can do. The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz.

Stellan Skarsgård has expressed interest in acting in the film if the script is good. This is a yellowing, somewhat tattered 1954 edition, which has been filed away somewhere and last borrowed almost 30 years ago! Gotta qualify that way better than expected. The play was held atop a giant constructed wooden stage resembling a crashed Viking ship with a dragon's head and was based on the second part of Bengtsson's book, after Røde Orm returns to Denmark with the bell. I'm not really giving anything away there. The female characters of the book are depicted as intelligent and strong-willed, with a resilient resolve towards the horrible hardships that women faced daily in the 10th and 11th centuries. [2] Like the sagas, the book relies on verbs and nouns to drive the narrative, with only a minimum of adjectives and descriptive passages. Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016. Michael Chabon gives it an enthusiastic introduction, marveling that he knows only three other people who have read the book.But this isn’t exactly a lost gem. Orm decides to travel to the Dnieper weirs in Kievan Rus for the gold, and together with Toke and the Finnveding chieftain Olof mans a ship.

The whole work was translated into English by Michael Meyer as The long ships in 1954.

They return to Denmark to King Harald Bluetooth's court where Orm meets Ylva. Michael Chabon is the author of twelve books, including The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, The Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Klay, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son. His subsequent voyages take him from Moorish Spain to the British Isles to the Ukrainian steppe in search of treasure, love, and a peaceful home to call his own. Later a retainer of Orm. Swiftly moving, endlessly entertaining, and brimming with historically accurate 10th-century flavor, this recounts in Norse saga fashion the adventures of Orm Tostesson (aka "Red Orm"), beginning with his capture as a young lad by Vikings, where, initially taken as a slave, he quickly proves his mettle and is initiated into the group as one of their own, and is eventually elected chieftain. Let me say that 'The Long Ships' was the most fun read I've had in a long time. I'm thinking comparing with the original Swedish version. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Written in a linguistic style which rollicks around with all the anarchy of the Vikings themselves, constantly stirred with a subversive and dry humour which tickles like a feather inside your shirt and you can't quite reach to scratch.

Meanwhile, Orm also gets busy in converting the heathens in the district, with the help of Father Willibald. One of those few books where you dread reaching the end because you'll have to read something else. And not least of the rewards of reading Mr. Bengtsson's gorgeous romance is the sly humor that is sprinkled through it.” -Orville Prescott, The New York Times, Bengtsson “keeps his readers eager for the next chapter.