The Tales...

In general, one thing I noticed right away, was the stark stylistic contrast between contemporary authors and the authors of the sagas. Contemporary writing, from my experience, is all about fluency and word choice, so that even if the story was terrible, at least it sounds pretty. From what I have read of the sagas, it seems authors are concerned purely about the story line. Obviously, something does get lost in translation. I'm sure that the sagas were much more fluent when read in the native tongue of the Icelanders. But we all know from personal experience, that the most important part of how anything, whether it be a joke, a meal, or a story, is initially reacted to, is the delivery and presentation. When I read these sagas, I see glimmers of potential. It makes me wish I could read them in the form in which they were originally written. But as it stands now, I accept the sagas for what they are. Exceptional stories. I thought that all three of the sagas were interesting. Though the first saga, The Tale of Thorstein Staff-struck, was of most interest to me. I could picture Thorstein being played by Mel Gibson in a movie. The second saga, I found a bit dull. I did, however, appreciate the irony of Halli dying as he ate his porridge. It was kind of funny. The last saga, about Audun, was kind of cheesy, but good. It resembled a biblical parable, and I was happy for the guy. Anyway, that's my response,
Peter